Sudden death in epilepsy Optimum seizure control and prompt referral to specialist services are essential

摘要

People with epilepsy have a higher risk of premature death throughout the course of the condition. One of the most important causes of mortality is sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), defined as "sudden, unexpected, non-traumatic, and non-drowning death in patients with epilepsy, with or without evidence for a seizure, and excluding documented status epilepticus, in which postmortem examination does not reveal a structural or toxicological cause for death."3 In practice, all such deaths where an autopsy is performed are classified as definite SUDEP and those in which no autopsy is performed as probable SUDEP.