Sudden deaths: cardiac and non-cardiac in children in Accra

Sixteen (16) paediatric patients have suffered sudden deaths in Accra, Ghana over the last 15 years from 1980 to 1994. There were eight (8) females and 8 (eight) males involved; the M:F ratio is 1:1. Eight (8) of them were known heart disease patients; six (6) were not known to have any chronic illness, one had sickle cell anaemia and the other had abdominal tuberculosis. Cardiac: non-cardiac ratio is 1:1 in this report. The overall frequency of sudden deaths among children this author alone has been associated with, in Accra to date is about one per year.