Sudden Death in the Young (SDY)

POST SCD Partnership with the CDC
With support from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s SUID and SDY Case Registry, we strive to better understand the prevalence, causes, and risk factors for infants, children, and young adults who die suddenly and unexpectedly to inform strategies to prevent future deaths.

We were selected in 2014 as one of only 10 sites nationally (the only one on the West Coast) to participate in the CDC’s Sudden Death in the Young Registry, which aims to perform comprehensive pre- and post-mortem investigations of all SDYs to determine true causes and risk factors. The SDY Case Registry is used to understand unexpected infant and child deaths. The registry provides comprehensive information about the circumstances associated with these young deaths, as well as information about case investigations and their components.

Objectives:

  • Create state-level surveillance systems that build upon child death review activities.
  • Categorize SDY using standard definitions.
  • Monitor the incidence of different types of SDY.
  • Describe demographic and environmental factors associated with the different types of SDY.
  • Guide interventions and potentially save lives.
  • Improve systems of care for families.