Mortality due to SUDEP and status epilepticus

Mortality in patients with epilepsy (PWE) is increased compared to the general population. For this reason the National Programme of Epilepsy Care, which was established under the Health Service Executive's National Director for Clinical Strategy and Programmes, identified a reduction in mortality from epilepsy as a key quality metric to monitor the success of the programme. The increased mortality is greatest in the first years after diagnosis where it is predominantly related to the underlying cause but there remains a persistent elevation in mortality rates especially amongst those with longstanding epilepsy. This group of patients is more likely to die from epilepsy, predominantly sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) or status epilepticus (SE). This paper identifies a number of studies on mortality in epilepsy from SE and SUDEP and uses this data to generate an estimate for annual mortality from SUDEP and SE in Ireland. These estimates indicate that mortality in patients with epilepsy due to SUDEP and SE account for between 48 and 162 deaths per year in Ireland and sources of mortality information currently available possibly underestimate the numbers involved especially if deaths due to non-convulsive status are included.