Sudden deaths in Manipur – A preliminary study

A preliminary study of 55 sudden death (SD) cases from the autopsied bodies, during the period from January 1997 to August 2001 was done with the objective to find out the age and sex incidences, pathological profile, and its correlation with the cause and characteristics of sudden death. Post mortem diagnosis was established from the history, circumstantial evidences and histopathology. Among the victims, 31–40 year age group had the highest incidence (34.5%) with median age of 37 years. Males far predominate the females with a M:F=18.3:1. 70.9% of the cases gave no significant history while 16.3% had SD during sleep. The highest organ system involved was cardiovascular system with 32.7%. Interestingly, 21.8% of the SD cases were from infective causes, most of which had no significant clinical history. In 40% of the cases, no definite cause could be ascertained. The study demonstrates the importance of histopathology in the autopsy diagnosis of SD.