Certification of deaths attributable to epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the number of sudden unexpected epilepsy deaths occurring annually in England and Wales in those 16-50 years of age.

METHODS

All 1997 death entries mentioning epilepsy as a cause of death in those 16-50 years were examined and classified as sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), other epilepsy related deaths, or non-epilepsy deaths.

RESULTS

612 death entries were obtained with postmortem examination having been performed in 498 cases. Forty four deaths were certified as being attributable to SUDEP and a further 292 deaths were considered to be probable SUDEP cases.

CONCLUSION

It is estimated that between 350 and 400 cases of SUDEP occurred in England and Wales in 1997 in those 16-50 years. SUDEP is the commonest category of epilepsy related death and accurate certification of such deaths is vital for the monitoring of trends in mortality.