Causes of sudden death - autopsy review in a tertiary referral center

Abstract

Background: The incidence of sudden death has been increasing steadily all over the worldparticularly in the urban population for the last 5 years. World health organization [WHO] hasdefined sudden death as “Death within 24 hrs from the onset of symptoms”. It can be defined asdeaths that are sudden, unexpected, clinically unexplained, or otherwise obscure even though thereneed to be no unnatural element in their causation. Materials and methods: Complete analysisand review of all autopsy/post-mortem specimens received in the Department of Pathology, KIMS,Hubballi between September 2017 to June 2019 done to find out the cause of death. Results:During the study period, a total of 153 cases of sudden death were received, age ranged from 6months to 72 years, with male preponderance. The cause of death were, 67 cases - cardiac causes[43.7%], 15 cases- respiratory causes [9.8%], 7 cases of sepsis [4.5%], 6 cases of Miliary TB[3.9%], CNS- 5 cases [3.2%], Hepatobiliary [2.6%], Renal- 2 cases [1.3%], Gastrointestinal 2cases [1.3%] Malignancy – 1 case [0.65%], Inconclusive 44 - cases [ 28.7%]. Conclusion: Thisstudy concludes that sudden death can occur at any age with the most common cause being cardiacdiseases and few among these are preventable. Therefore, creating awareness about the risk factorsand prevention of disease progression can reduce the incidence of sudden deaths.

Burden and commonest cause of sudden natural death among medicolegal autopsies in a tertiary care centre: a retrospective study

“…The finding is in agreement with some other studies. 2,19,22,25 Several studies 2,20,22,28,30 reported respiratory system ailments as the second prevalent cause of sudden death; however, in the present study, gastrointestinal system problems, particularly chronic liver diseases (13.58%), were reported second most cause of death. Pneumonia was the most common respiratory cause (11.11%).…”

“…Several studies reported a higher incidence of sudden natural deaths among young adults in the 30-50 years age zone. 1,2,18,22,25 Most cases were reported in average BMI persons (62.96%), followed by obsessed persons. A similar finding was observed in the study of Tyagi et al 26 According to the present study; most cases were brought dead to the hospital (53.91%) followed by death at home (28.81%).…”

“…Male predominance in sudden natural deaths was observed in many other similar studies from India and around the globe. 2,7,15,[18][19][20][21][22] The majority Fig. 1 Distribution of cases according to involved organ system Among the cardiac causes, chronic coronary insufficiency is the most common cause (34.16%).…”

“…Various studies reported cardiac origin as the most common cause of sudden deaths in both genders, specifically among the adult male population. 19,20,22,28,29 Chronic coronary artery disease was the most reported cardio-vascular ailment (34.16%). The finding is in agreement with some other studies.…”

Epidemiological profiles and causes of sudden deaths of various ages in Ethiopia: an autopsy-based study

“…This finding matches various studies. [11][12][13] All of these studies noted that middle age groups of 30 to 50 years are at high risk for SD. This finding appears to reflect behavioral and environmental factors that impact the health of society resulting from urbanization, the shift to a Western lifestyle, and the rapid nutritional transition and sedentary lifestyle with increased substance abuse habits.…”