Hypophosphatemia as a key factor in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)?

Abstract

Dear Sir, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS remains an important cause of mortality in infants. The 2011 publication of Siren and Siren (1) and the subsequent letter to the editor (2) focus oncritical diaphragm failure as a possible cause and provide plausible evidence. However, these articles do not explore the metabolic basis for this critical diaphragm failure. Several authors, including Aubier et al. (3) and Fiaccadori et al. (4) have described that the diaphragm is extremely susceptible to hypophosphatemia, and this may be the origin of the symptoms reported by Siren and Siren. Hence, it may well be the yet unexplored underlying mechanism responsible for SIDS.