Nashef L, Garner S, Sander J W, Fish D R, Shorvon S D
Epilepsy Research Group and the Department of Neurophysiology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK.
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1998 Mar;64(3):349-52. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.64.3.349.
To study the circumstances of death in sudden death in epilepsy.
Self referred bereaved relatives of patients with epilepsy who had died suddenly were interviewed with information obtained substantiated through other sources-namely, coroners' officers' reports, postmortem reports, previous medical records, and EEG reports.
Of 34 cases, 26 were classified as sudden unexpected deaths in epilepsy (SUDEP). Twenty four of 26 cases of SUDEP were unwitnessed. Evidence indicative or suggestive of a seizure was found in most. In 11 of 26 the position of the head was such that breathing could have been compromised. Cases included both localisation related and idiopathic primary generalised epilepsy. Only three were in remission at the time of death. Most relatives expressed the view that they would have preferred to have known that epilepsy could be fatal.
Although the deaths in question were largely unwitnessed, the available evidence suggested that most cases of SUDEP represented ictal or postictal seizure deaths, occurring in people with a history of generalised tonic clonic seizures, and in both primary generalised and localisation related epilepsy. These interviews highlight the needs of bereaved relatives and their sense of isolation in the face of an entirely unexpected and apparently unexplained loss.
研究癫痫猝死的死亡情况。
对自行前来的癫痫猝死患者的亲属进行访谈，并通过其他来源证实所获信息，这些来源包括验尸官报告、尸检报告、既往病历和脑电图报告。
在34例病例中，26例被归类为癫痫性意外猝死（SUDEP）。26例SUDEP病例中有24例为无人目睹死亡。大多数病例中发现了提示或暗示癫痫发作的证据。26例中有11例头部位置可能影响呼吸。病例包括定位相关癫痫和特发性原发性全身性癫痫。只有3例在死亡时处于缓解期。大多数亲属表示，他们希望事先知道癫痫可能是致命的。
尽管这些死亡大多无人目睹，但现有证据表明，大多数SUDEP病例代表发作期或发作后期癫痫死亡，发生在有全身强直阵挛发作病史的人群中，包括原发性全身性癫痫和定位相关癫痫。这些访谈凸显了亲属的需求以及他们在面对完全意想不到且明显无法解释的损失时的孤立感。
