Autopsy findings in Sudden Death in Epilepsy. A review and case reports

Abstract

Introduction: Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy is the most feared complication of epilepsy and is recognized as one of the main causes of premature death in young adults with epilepsy; however, it is still poorly recognized, reported, and poorly researched by health professionals, which has led to little progress in its detection and prevention.
Methodology: A narrative review was carried out by searching for articles in PubMed, Google Scholar, and Lilacs, using the keywords in English and Spanish: SUDEP, epilepsy, autopsy, molecular autopsy, and their combinations. In addition, five files from the database of the Directorate of Forensic Medicine of Tegucigalpa, recorded as SUDEP, were analyzed.
Results: Of the five cases analyzed, four (80%) were women and one man, four (80%) were not witnessed and occurred during sleep. 80% (4) of the cases were under 40 years of age, and both macroscopic and microscopic autopsy findings are similar to those reported by other authors. In the analysis of 28 articles, it was found that the diagnosis of SUDEP still represents a challenge.
Conclusion: Although there are significant advances in the understanding of the mechanisms and risk factors that contribute to SUDEP, more research is still needed.