Brainstem serotonin in sudden infant death syndrome.

摘要

To the Editor: Dr Duncan and colleagues1 analyzed brain-stem serotonin in children dying from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and in controls. We are concerned about 2 possible errors in their statistical approach.First, all statistical theory is based on probability sampling.2 However, the authors studied a small convenience sample of SIDS and non-SIDS infants. Although it may be difficult to draw a probability sample for this outcome, the au-diors need to provide a convincing argument of why they can apply statistical theory to their convenience sample.