Epilepsy related mortality: more than sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP)

The incidence of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) in Ireland has previously been studied. The aim of this work is to examine how frequently epilepsy related deaths, other than SUDEP, occur in the Irish population.

All deaths referred to the coroner in 2019 were examined. Those with a history of possible epilepsy were noted and subjected to a more detailed assessment. Cases of SUDEP were excluded and other epilepsy related deaths were divided into those directly related to epilepsy and those indirectly related to epilepsy.

We identified 54 non SUDEP epilepsy related deaths in the Republic of Ireland in 2019, 33 men and 21 women. Ages ranged from 22 to 92 years with a median age of 58 years. Twenty-two deaths were directly related to epilepsy with 32 indirectly related.

This is the first study of non SUDEP epilepsy related deaths in Ireland. It is important that these deaths, which like SUDEP may be potentially preventable, are recognised that and that risk reduction strategies are put in place. While this work demonstrates that the interrogation of coronial records is a useful way to monitor epilepsy mortality, efforts should be made to ensure more accurate certification of these deaths.