Autopsy review of sudden deaths in a tertiary hospital of northeastern India

Abstract

Background: World Health Organization (WHO) defi nes sudden death as “deaths within 24 hours from the onset of the symptoms”. It is also defi ned as death which is sudden, unexpected, clinically unexplained, or otherwise obscure even though there needs to be no unnatural element in their causation. This study was taken up to analyze histopathologically the possible cause of sudden deaths. Aims: To study the different histomorphological profi le of sudden deaths in the autopsy/postmortem specimens received in the Department of Pathology, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Imphal. Materials and Methods: A review of all autopsies/postmortem of sudden deaths performed between 1 st January 2000 and 31 st December 2013 at Department of Pathology, RIMS, were done. Results: A total of 120 cases were autopsied for sudden deaths during the study period. The age ranged from 17 to 70 years with male predominance. Maximum deaths occurred in the age group between 31 and 35 years and males were affected more than females. The cause of deaths in 67 cases (55.83%) were attributed to cardiac causes, the most common cause being coronary artery disease and the remaining 53 cases (44.17%) were due to noncardiac causes. Conclusion: It is found that sudden deaths are most commonly found in young adults (31-35 years) and most of them are attributed to a cardiac cause. This study highlights the serious health concern in our society and a necessity to create awareness among the population at risk so that sudden deaths can be averted and life expectancy can be improved.