Pattern of Sudden Natural Deaths among Autopsies Conducted at Mysore Medical College

Sudden deaths are important from a medicolegal point as they may raise suspicion of foul play. Sudden death is a death which is not known to have been caused by any trauma, poisoning or violent asphyxia, and where death occurs all of a sudden or within 24 hours of the onset of the terminal symptoms.

To find the socio-demographic profile (age, sex and religion) of the deceased of sudden death and to find out the pattern of cause of sudden natural death.

This cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted in the department of Forensic Medicine, Mysore Medical College, Mysore, from January 2010 to December 2015. During this period there were 204 cases of sudden natural death.

During the period of study, autopsy was conducted on 204 sudden natural deaths, of which, 177 were male. Majority of the cases were from the 25–50 year age group, minimum from the age group of up to 10 years. Of the 204 cases, 128 were due to diseases of cardiovascular system, 46 due to diseases of respiratory, 16 due to diseases of central nervous, 9 due to diseases of gastrointestinal, 4 due to diseases of genitourinary systems, respectively, while 1 died due to disease of some other system involvement. Coronary artery disease was the single largest cause of death, accounting for 119 deaths (41%). The other causes of death in the descending order of frequency were: Lobar Pneumonia (29 cases) and Sub-arachnoid haemorrhage (13 cases). Majority of these deaths cases occurred while the person was outside the hospital setting (64%), followed by patients who were admitted to the hospital (36%). Among the study population, 49% were Hindu by religion.

We found that a significant number of sudden deaths occurred in adults, particularly in the population above 30years, posing a health concern in our society. Cardiac causes contributed the maximum number, with atherosclerosis being the main culprit in causing CAD