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Unifying the definitions of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy
Open accessAbstract
Summary: Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is a category of death in people with epilepsy occurring in the absence of a known structural cause of death and is most likely heterogeneous with regard to mechanisms and circumstances. SUDEP is particularly difficult to investigate in research studies for several reasons, including its relatively low incidence, its unpredictable occurrence often in unwitnessed settings, and its low rate of complete autopsy examinations. Over the past two decades, two complementary definitions have been used in most SUDEP studies, but often with variations. We propose here a unified SUDEP definition and classification to resolve current ambiguities and to retrieve cases that would not have been further studied if the previous definitions were used. The proposed Unified SUDEP Definition and Classification contains, in addition to concepts inherent in the previous definitions, nine main recommendations. (1) The word “unexpected,” and not the word “unexplained,” should be uniformly used in the term SUDEP . (2) The SUDEP category should be applied when appropriate, whether or not a terminal seizure is known to have occurred. (3) The “Possible SUDEP” category should be used only for cases with competing causes of death, with cases left unclassified when data are insufficient to reasonably permit their classification. (4) Cases that would otherwise fulfill the definition of SUDEP should be designated as “SUDEP Plus” when evidence indicates that a preexisting condition, known before or after autopsy, could have contributed to the death, which otherwise is classified as SUDEP (e.g., coronary insufficiency with no evidence of myocardial infarction or long‐QT syndrome with no documented primary ventricular arrhythmia leading to death). (5) To be considered SUDEP, the death should have occurred within 1 h from the onset of a known terminal event. (6) For status epilepticus as an exclusion criterion for SUDEP, the duration of seizure activity should be 30 min or more. (7) A specific category of SUDEP due to asphyxia should not be designated, the distinction being largely impractical on circumstantial or autopsy evidence, with more than one mechanism likely to be contributory in many cases. (8) Death occurring in water but without circumstantial or autopsy evidence of submersion should be classified as “Possible SUDEP.” If any evidence of submersion is present, the death should not be classified as SUDEP. (9) A category of “Near‐SUDEP” should be agreed to include cases in which cardiorespiratory arrest was reversed by resuscitation efforts with subsequent survival for more than 1 h. Scenarios that demonstrate the basis for each SUDEP category are described. If disagreement exists about which category fits a particular case, we suggest the use of consensus decision by a panel of informed reviewers to adjudicate the classification of the case.
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“The primary cause of death is sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) 17 ; other causes include cerebral oedema following status epilepticus 18 , chest infections and accidental causes 19 .”
From Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (2024) · cites this paper as [17]
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Sorted by citations
Items 201–300 of 629
Correction: Epilepsy Is a Risk Factor for Sudden Cardiac Arrest in the General Population
Bardai, A., Lamberts, R. J., Blom, M. T., Spanjaart, A. M., Berdowski, J., van der Staal, S. R., Brouwer, H. J., Koster, R. W., Sander, J. W. A. S., Thijs, R. D., et al. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/annotation/847ccbb3-45b2-4338-9ff3-ee5f35c58551 · Cited by 22
Transfer Learning of Deep Spatiotemporal Networks to Model Arbitrarily Long Videos of Seizures
Pérez‐García, F., Scott, C. A., Sparks, R. E., Diehl, B., & Sebastien Ourselin, A. (2021) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-87240-3_32 · Cited by 21
“TCSs in particular increase SUDEP risk substantially [17].”
BackgroundEpilepsy is associated with an increased incidence of heart failure diagnoses
Doege, C., Luedde, M., & Kostev, K. (2021) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.108393 · Cited by 21
Cardiorespiratory findings in epilepsy: A recent review on outcomes and pathophysiology
Akyüz, E., Üner, A. K., Köklü, B., Arulsamy, A., & Shaikh, M. F. (2021) · Journal of Neuroscience Research · doi:10.1002/jnr.24861 · Cited by 21
“SUDEP is defined as a sudden, unexpected, non- traumatic and non- drowning death in patients with epilepsy without any observable structural or toxicological cause of death (Nashef et al., 2012).”
BackgroundSudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy: Addressing the Challenges
Smithson, W. H., Colwell, B., & Hanna, J. (2014) · Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports · doi:10.1007/s11910-014-0502-4 · Cited by 21
Seizure‐related deaths in children: The expanding spectrum
Harowitz, J., Crandall, L., McGuone, D., & Devinsky, O. (2021) · Epilepsia · doi:10.1111/epi.16833 · Cited by 20
Watkins, L. V., Henning, O. J., Bassett, P., Ashby, S., Tromans, S. J., & Shankar, R. (2024) · European Journal of Neurology · doi:10.1111/ene.16375 · Cited by 20
“…epilepsy (SUDEP) is defined as sudden, unexpected, witnessed or unwitnessed, nontraumatic and non-drowning death in an individual with epilepsy, with or without evidence for a seizure and excluding documented status epilepticus where postmortem examination does not reveal a cause for death [1–8].”
Zhao, P., Wang, J., Gao, P., Li, X., & Brewer, R. (2015) · Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.jflm.2015.10.004 · Cited by 20
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“as Definite SUDEP Plus are long QT syndrome and coronary artery atheroma (Nashef et al., 2012).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialCihan, E., Devinsky, O., Hesdorffer, D. C., Brandsoy, M., Li, L., Fowler, D. R., Graham, J. K., Karlovich, M. W., Yang, J. E., Keller, A. E., et al. (2020) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000009996 · Cited by 20
“Definite SUDEP, definite SUDEP plus, probable SUDEP, probable SUDEP plus, possible SUDEP, and near SUDEP cases were classified using Nashef et al.(9) criteria.”
MethodStewart, M., Silverman, J. B., Sundaram, K., & Kollmar, R. (2020) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2020.00765 · Cited by 20
“, what if the first seizure you have is the one that causes sudden death? In summary, (1) we propose that obstructive apnea is the critical mechanistic link between seizure activity and respiratory and cardiac failure in the majority of SUDEP cases, (2) we recommend modifying the “near SUDEP” definition (104) to inclu…”
Regional microglial populations in central autonomic brain regions in SUDEP
Somani, A., El‐Hachami, H., Patodia, S., Sisodiya, S. M., & Thom, M. (2021) · Epilepsia · doi:10.1111/epi.16904 · Cited by 20
SUDEP – more attention to the heart? A narrative review on molecular autopsy in epilepsy
Fialho, G. L., Wolf, P., Walz, R., & Lin, K. (2021) · Seizure · doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2021.03.010 · Cited by 19
Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy
Buchanan, G. F., Maciel, A. T. N., & Summerfield, M. J. (2023) · Current Opinion in Neurology · doi:10.1097/wco.0000000000001135 · Cited by 19
Cardiorespiratory abnormalities during epileptic seizures
Kothare, S. V., & Singh, K. (2014) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2014.08.005 · Cited by 19
“” SUDEP is the most common cause of death that can be directly attributable to epilepsy [46].”
BackgroundBarranco, R., Caputo, F., Molinelli, A., & Ventura, F. (2020) · Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.jflm.2020.101920 · Cited by 19
Hamdy, R. M., Abdel‐Tawab, H., Elaziz, O. H. A., attar, R. S. E., & Kotb, F. M. (2022) · International Journal of General Medicine · doi:10.2147/ijgm.s354895 · Cited by 18
“SUDEP can arise as a consequence of a terminal cardiac arrhythmia caused by highly frequent seizure-triggered hypoxic stress, as well as excessive sympathetic overstimulation, which provokes neurocardiogenic injury and affects electrical properties of the myocardium, resulting in a fatal cardiac arrhythmia.(5) Hence,…”
BackgroundVilella, L., Miyake, C. Y., Chaitanya, G., Hampson, J. P., Omidi, S. J., Ochoa‐Urrea, M., Talavera, B., Páez, O. M., Hupp, N. J., Hampson, J. S., et al. (2024) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000209501 · Cited by 18
Testimonies submitted for the Institute of Medicine report
AUSTIN, J. K., Hesdorffer, D. C., Liverman, C. T., & Schultz, A. M. (2012) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2012.10.003 · Cited by 18
“SUDEP is a cause of death that occurs suddenly and unexpectedly in an otherwise healthy person with epilepsy where autopsy provides no other explanation [4].”
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Chen, S., Joodi, G., Devinsky, O., Sadaf, M. I., Pursell, I. W., & Simpson, R. J. (2018) · Epileptic Disorders · doi:10.1684/epd.2018.0979 · Cited by 18
“These cases were classified s Definite, Probable, Possible, and Not SUDEP based n criteria established by Nashef et al. (2012).”
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Self-citationSoh, M. S., Bagnall, R. D., Semsarian, C., Scheffer, I. E., Berkovic, S. F., & Reid, C. A. (2022) · Epilepsia · doi:10.1111/epi.17254 · Cited by 17
Kir5.1 channels: potential role in epilepsy and seizure disorders
Staruschenko, A., Hodges, M. R., & Palygin, O. (2022) · American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology · doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00235.2022 · Cited by 18
Chronobiology of epilepsy and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy
Kreitlow, B. L., Li, W. H. C., & Buchanan, G. F. (2022) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2022.936104 · Cited by 17
Advances in sudden unexpected death in epilepsy
Zhao, H., Long, L., & Xiao, B. (2022) · Acta Neurologica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/ane.13715 · Cited by 17
Epidemiological study of mortality in epilepsy in a Spanish population
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Mechanisms and prevention of acid reflux induced laryngospasm in seizing rats
Budde, R. B., Pederson, D. J., Biggs, E. N., Jefferys, J. G. R., & Irazoqui, P. P. (2020) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2020.107188 · Cited by 17
“Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is a complication of epilepsy which is defined as a “sudden, unexpected, witnessed or unwitnessed, nontraumatic and nondrowning death in patients with epilepsy, with or without evidence for a seizure and excluding documented status epilepticus, in which postmortem examinatio…”
BackgroundSCN1A gene sequencing in 46 Turkish epilepsy patients disclosed 12 novel mutations
Usluer, S., Salar, S., Arslan, M., Yiş, U., Kara, B., Tektürk, P., Baykan, B. B., Meral, C., Türkdoğan, D., Bebek, N., et al. (2016) · Seizure · doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2016.05.008 · Cited by 17
Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy: A Narrative Review of Mechanism, Risks, and Prevention
Jiang, R. Y., Varughese, R. T., & Kothare, S. V. (2025) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm14103329 · Cited by 16
“Adapted from Box 3 of “Unifying the Definitions of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy” [4].”
Prognostic impact of misdiagnosis of cardiac channelopathies as epilepsy
Ramos‐Maqueda, J., Bermúdez-Jiménez, F. J., Ruiz, R. M., Cabrera‐Ramos, M., Lerma, M. J. M., Sánchez-Millán, P. J., López, M. Á., Tercedor, L., & Jiménez‐Jáimez, J. (2020) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0231442 · Cited by 16
“[13] This tragic event is often referred to as sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, or SUDEP.[11,14] Cardiac arrhythmias due to unrecognized cardiac channelopathies have been described as one of the possible underlying causes that might provoke SUDEP.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialAssociation Between Psychiatric Comorbidities and Mortality in Epilepsy
Tao, G., Auvrez, C., Nightscales, R., Barnard, S. N., McCartney, L., Malpas, C. B., Perucca, P., Chen, Z. Z., Adams, S. J., McIntosh, A. M., et al. (2021) · Neurology Clinical Practice · doi:10.1212/cpj.0000000000001114 · Cited by 16
Wicker, E., & Cole, J. W. (2021) · The Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics · doi:10.5863/1551-6776-26.6.556 · Cited by 16
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“We excluded ‘presumed SUDEP’ cases with insufficient information to determine SUDEP group and ‘near SUDEP’.”
InfluentialDelineating selective vulnerability of inhibitory interneurons in Alpers' syndrome
Smith, L. A., Erskine, D., Blain, A. P., Taylor, R. W., McFarland, R., & Lax, N. Z. (2022) · Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology · doi:10.1111/nan.12833 · Cited by 15
Nadeem, M. D., Memon, S., Qureshi, K., Farooq, U., Memon, U. A., Aparna, F., Kachhadia, M. P., Shahzeen, F., Ali, S., Varrassi, G., et al. (2023) · Cureus · doi:10.7759/cureus.45606 · Cited by 17
Learnings from supporting traumatic grief in the aftermath of sudden epilepsy deaths
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Panelli, R. J. (2019) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2019.07.018 · Cited by 16
Two autopsy cases of sudden unexpected death from Dravet syndrome with novel de novo SCN1A variants
Hata, Y., Oku, Y., Taneichi, H., Tanaka, T., Igarashi, N., Niida, Y., & Nishida, N. (2019) · Brain and Development · doi:10.1016/j.braindev.2019.10.005 · Cited by 17
Interictal electrocardiographic alternations in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy
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Ryvlin, P., Huot, M., Valton, L., Maillard, L. G., Bartoloméi, F., Derambure, P., Hirsch, É., Michel, V., Chassoux, F., Petit, J., et al. (2025) · The Lancet Neurology · doi:10.1016/s1474-4422(25)00379-5 · Cited by 15
Self-citationSudden unexpected death in epilepsy: respiratory vs. cardiac contributions
Lin, S., Schwartz, T. H., & Pitt, G. S. (2024) · Cardiovascular Research · doi:10.1093/cvr/cvae170 · Cited by 17
Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy: A Retrospective Autopsy Study of 112 Epileptic Patients
Melez, İ. E., Arslan, M. N., Melez, D. O., Şanlı, A. N., & Koç, S. (2016) · Nöro Psikiyatri Arşivi · doi:10.5152/npa.2016.14863 · Cited by 15
“(11) wrote a review to combine the SUDEP definitions.”
BackgroundSUDEP classification: Discordances between forensic investigators and epileptologists
Verducci, C., Friedman, D. J., Donner, E. J., Laze, J., & Devinsky, O. (2020) · Epilepsia · doi:10.1111/epi.16712 · Cited by 15
Probable Sudden Unexpected Death in Dogs With Epilepsy (pSUDED)
Hünerfauth, E., Nessler, J. N., Erath, J., & Tipold, A. (2021) · Frontiers in Veterinary Science · doi:10.3389/fvets.2021.600307 · Cited by 15
“An exclusion criterion for SUDEP is a preceding status epilepticus with a seizure activity duration of more than 30min (9, 10).”
BackgroundInfluentialDoege, C., Luedde, M., & Kostev, K. (2022) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2022.108721 · Cited by 15
Raphe and ventrolateral medulla proteomics in epilepsy and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy
Leitner, D., Kanshin, E., Askenazi, M., Faustin, A., Friedman, D. J., Devore, S., Ueberheide, B. M., Wısnıewskı, T., & Devinsky, O. (2022) · Brain Communications · doi:10.1093/braincomms/fcac186 · Cited by 15
“Changes to BBB permeability or vasculature changes in brainstem deserve further study, including whether these changes might be reflected in plasma or CSF as in TBI and aging.53,54 Future studies in the medulla may also be of interest to identify cell type- and nuclei- (i.e. raphe obscurus, raphe pallidus, arcuate nuc…”
BackgroundInfluentialTrends in reporting injury as a cause of death among people with epilepsy in the U.S., 1981–2010
Chang, C., Lu, T., & Cheng, T. (2014) · Seizure · doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2014.07.002 · Cited by 15
Holt, R. L., Arehart, E. J., Hunanyan, A. S., Fainberg, N. A., & Mikati, M. A. (2016) · Seminars in Pediatric Neurology · doi:10.1016/j.spen.2016.05.002 · Cited by 15
“and pathogenic features 49 : (1) They both result in respiratory suppression with death as an outcome, (2) Pulmonary congestion and edema are common findings at the time of death in both syndromes, (3) As is the case in SUDEP, a majority of SIDS infants are found in the prone position and do not arouse in response to…”
BackgroundInfluentialImplications of Death Certification on Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) Research
Atherton, D. S., Devinsky, O., Hesdorffer, D. C., Wright, C., & Davis, G. G. (2016) · Academic Forensic Pathology · doi:10.23907/2016.009 · Cited by 15
Cardiac Dysfunction in Neurocritical Care: An Autonomic Perspective
Ibrahim, M. S., Samuel, B., Mohamed, W., & Suchdev, K. (2018) · Neurocritical Care · doi:10.1007/s12028-018-0636-3 · Cited by 15
Identifying and Addressing Disparities in Mortality
Lauer, E., Heslop, P., & Hoghton, M. (2015) · International review of research in developmental disabilities · doi:10.1016/bs.irrdd.2015.03.002 · Cited by 15
Paediatric sudden unexpected death in epilepsy: From pathophysiology to prevention
Mastrangelo, M., & Esposito, D. (2022) · Seizure · doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2022.07.020 · Cited by 14
Cardiac arrhythmia and epilepsy genetic variants in sudden unexpected death in epilepsy
Aschner, A., Keller, A. E., Williams, A. S., Whitney, R., Cunningham, K., Hamilton, R. M., Pollanen, M. S., & Donner, E. J. (2024) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2024.1386730 · Cited by 14
“SUDEP refers to deaths in people with epilepsy (PwE) without a known cause and is usually accompanied by an autopsy that identifies no anatomical or toxicological cause of death (6).”
BackgroundMethodSeizures and premature death in mice with targeted Kv1.1 deficiency in corticolimbic circuits
Paulhus, K., & Glasscock, E. (2024) · Brain Communications · doi:10.1093/braincomms/fcae444 · Cited by 14
“3,4 The current view of SUDEP is that seizures somehow trigger deleterious cardiac and respiratory dysfunction that culminates in death.”
Sudden Death After Febrile Seizure Case Report: Cerebral Suppression Precedes Severe Bradycardia
Myers, K. A., McPherson, R. E., Clegg, R., & Buchhalter, J. (2017) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.2016-2051 · Cited by 14
Third International Congress on Epilepsy, Brain and Mind: Part 1
Korczyn, A. D., Schachter, S. C., Amlerová, J., Bialer, M., Boas, W. V. E., Brázdil, M., Brodtkorb, E., Engel, J., Gotman, J., Komárek, V., et al. (2015) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2015.06.044 · Cited by 14
“to the sudden death in a seemingly healthy personwith epilepsy, usually occurring during or immediately after a tonic–clonic seizure [97].”
BackgroundSCN2A and Its Related Epileptic Phenotypes
Praticò, A. D., Giallongo, A., Arrabito, M., D'Amico, S., Gauci, M. C., Lombardo, G., Polizzi, A., Falsaperla, R., & Ruggieri, M. (2021) · Journal of Pediatric Neurology · doi:10.1055/s-0041-1727097 · Cited by 13
Perulli, M., Battista, A., Sivo, S., Turrini, I., Musto, E., Quintiliani, M., Gambardella, M. L., Contaldo, I., Veredice, C., Mercuri, E. M., et al. (2021) · Seizure · doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2021.11.023 · Cited by 14
Unexpected cardiorespiratory findings postictally and at rest weeks prior to SUDEP
Lamrani, Y., Tran, T. P. Y., Toffa, D. H., Robert, M., Bérubé, A.-A., Nguyen, D. K., & Assi, E. B. (2023) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2023.1129395 · Cited by 13
Astrocytic pathology in Alpers’ syndrome
Smith, L. A., Chen, C., Lax, N. Z., Taylor, R. W., Erskine, D., & McFarland, R. (2023) · Acta Neuropathologica Communications · doi:10.1186/s40478-023-01579-w · Cited by 13
“SUDEP cases were defined as a premature unexplained death of an epilepsy patient for which there was no cause of death identified at autopsy [33].”
BackgroundPrivacy-Preserving Early Detection of Epileptic Seizures in Videos
Mehta, D. S., Sivathamboo, S., Simpson, H. D., Kwan, P., O'Brien, T. J., & Ge, Z. (2023) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-43904-9_21 · Cited by 13
Circumstances surrounding sudden unexpected death in epilepsy in children: A national case series
Whitney, R., Keller, A. E., Li, S., Datta, A., MacDonald, M., Nouri, M. N., Pohl, D., Sell, E., Ronen, G. M., Sidhu, M., et al. (2025) · Epilepsia · doi:10.1111/epi.18339 · Cited by 13
Surges, R., Conrad, S., Hamer, H. M., Schulze‐Bonhage, A., Staack, A. M., Steinhoff, B. J., Strzelczyk, A., & Trinka, E. (2021) · Der Nervenarzt · doi:10.1007/s00115-021-01075-3 · Cited by 13
Transfer Learning of Deep Spatiotemporal Networks to Model Arbitrarily Long Videos of Seizures
Pérez-García, F., Scott, C. A., Sparks, R. E., Diehl, B., & Sebastien Ourselin, A. (2021) · UCL Discovery (University College London) · Cited by 13
Deaths in children with epilepsies: A UK-wide study
Sidebotham, P. D., Hunter, L., Appleton, R. E., & Dunkley, C. (2015) · Seizure · doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2015.05.003 · Cited by 13
“All patientidentifiable data were removed from the database prior to analysis by the research team.”
MethodSudden unexpected death in GEFS+ families with sodium channel pathogenic variants
Myers, K. A., Shevell, M. I., & Sébire, G. (2019) · Epilepsy Research · doi:10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2019.01.009 · Cited by 13
Hippocampal morphometry in sudden and unexpected death in epilepsy
Somani, A., Zborovschi, A.-B., Liu, Y., Patodia, S., Michalak, Z., Sisodiya, S. M., & Thom, M. (2019) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000007969 · Cited by 13
“There was no association between GCL or HD measurements and the presence of additional TBI, CVD or MCD pathology at PM.”
InfluentialEpilepsy and seizure-related deaths: Mortality statistics do not tell the complete story
Panelli, R. J., & O'Brien, T. J. (2019) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2019.07.003 · Cited by 13
Shafer, P. O., & Buchhalter, J. (2016) · Neurologic Clinics · doi:10.1016/j.ncl.2016.01.001 · Cited by 13
Esmaeili, B., Hakimian, S., Ko, A. L., Hauptman, J. S., Ojemann, J. G., Miller, J. W., & Tobochnik, S. D. (2023) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000207405 · Cited by 12
“SUDEP was classified according to the Nashef criteria.(11) Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for all-cause deaths were calculated using 2020 US age-adjusted expected death rates.”
Mortality in older adults with epilepsy: An understudied entity
Hashmi, S. A., Gundlapalli, R., & Zawar, I. (2024) · Epilepsia Open · doi:10.1002/epi4.13098 · Cited by 12
“67,68 Overall, SUDEP is a cause of death that occurs when there is no known structural cause of mortality in PWE.”
Studying the pathophysiologic connection between cardiovascular and nervous systems using stem cells
Coskun, V., & Lombardo, D. M. (2016) · Journal of Neuroscience Research · doi:10.1002/jnr.23924 · Cited by 13
“SUDEP is defined as the sudden, unexpected, nondrowning and nontraumatic death in patients with epilepsy with or without evidence of seizure, excluding status epilepticus and other known causes (Nashef et al., 2012).”
BackgroundWenker, I. C., Boscia, A. R., Lewis, C., Tariq, A., Miralles, R. M., Hanflink, J. C., Saraf, P., & Patel, M. K. (2022) · Frontiers in Neural Circuits · doi:10.3389/fncir.2022.1002013 · Cited by 12
“Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is defined as the sudden, unexpected, non-traumatic, and non-drowning death of a person with epilepsy for which post-mortem examination does not reveal another cause of death (Nashef et al., 2012).”
BackgroundAbdullahi, A., Etoom, M., Badaru, U. M., Elibol, N., Abuelsamen, A., Alawneh, A., Zakari, U. U., Saeys, W., & Truijen, S. (2022) · International Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1080/00207454.2022.2126776 · Cited by 12
“…in certain cases, the ‘sudden death in epilepsy (SUDeP)’ which some people experience has been attributed to seizure-induced cardiorespiratory alterations [16 , 17 ]. thus, effective interventions that can help reduce the incidence of seizure, prevent SUDeP and improve quality of life are needed.”
BackgroundSingh, J., Lanzarini, E., & Santosh, P. (2021) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2020.632510 · Cited by 12
“A more recent classification has expanded this definition (3) and encompasses the definitions of SUDEP + and takes into account if a comorbid disorder co-exists such as prolonged QT, however, the diagnosis of pure SUDEP is one that is based on exclusion.”
BackgroundSudden unexpected death in epilepsy in a patient with a cardiac pacemaker
Bank, A. M., Dworetzky, B. A., & Lee, J. W. (2018) · Seizure · doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2018.07.012 · Cited by 12
Interictal EEG and ECG for SUDEP Risk Assessment: A Retrospective Multicenter Cohort Study
Chen, Z. S., Hsieh, A., Sun, G., Bergey, G. K., Berkovic, S. F., Perucca, P., D'Souza, W. J., Elder, C. J., Farooque, P., Johnson, E. L., et al. (2022) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2022.858333 · Cited by 11
Nightscales, R., Barnard, S. N., Laze, J., Chen, Z. Z., Tao, G., Auvrez, C., Sivathamboo, S., Cook, M. J., Kwan, P., Friedman, D. J., et al. (2023) · Epilepsia Open · doi:10.1002/epi4.12693 · Cited by 11
Buerki, S. E., Haas, C., & Neubauer, J. (2023) · Seizure · doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2023.11.002 · Cited by 11
“Among the 45 SUD cases, nine cases had a known medical history of epilepsy and were therefore classified as definite SUDEP, according to the definition by Nashef et al. [14] (Fig.”
BackgroundMethodDlouhy, B. J., Ciliberto, M. A., Cifra, C. L., Kirby, P., Shrock, D. L., Nashelsky, M. B., & Richerson, G. B. (2017) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2017.00021 · Cited by 11
“By contrast, sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is a well-established phenomenon but excludes patients without a diagnosis of epilepsy (3).”
BackgroundDesentrañando los misterios de la muerte súbita en epilepsia
Hampel, K. G., Rocamora, R., & Quesada, C. (2017) · Neurología · doi:10.1016/j.nrl.2017.02.004 · Cited by 11
Kumar, A., Alhourani, H., Abdelkader, A., Shah, A. K., Juhász, C., & Basha, M. M. (2021) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.108185 · Cited by 11
Postmortem Genetic Testing in Sudden Unexpected Death: A Narrative Review
Alzahrani, S. A., Alswaimil, N. F., AlAmmari, A. M., Saeed, W. H. A., & Menezes, R. G. (2023) · Cureus · doi:10.7759/cureus.33728 · Cited by 11
“as “a sudden, unexpected, witnessed or unwitnessed, non-traumatic, and non-drowning death in patients with epilepsy with or without evidence for a seizure, and excluding documented status epilepticus, in which postmortem examination does not reveal a structural or toxicologic cause of death” [37].”
BackgroundSudden unexpected death in epilepsy: Investigation of autopsy-based studies
Yan, F., Zhang, F., Yan, Y., Zhang, L., & Chen, Y. (2023) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2023.1126652 · Cited by 11
“with or without evidence for a seizure and excluding documented status epilepticus, in which postmortem examination does not reveal a toxicological or anatomic cause for death” (1).”
BackgroundMethodCardiovascular Disease Burden, Mortality, and Sudden Death Risk in Epilepsy: A UK Biobank Study
Shah, R. A., Chahal, C. A. A., Ranjha, S., Dabbagh, G. S., Asatryan, B., Limongelli, I., Khanji, M. Y., Ricci, F., Paoli, F. D., Zucca, S., et al. (2023) · Canadian Journal of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/j.cjca.2023.11.021 · Cited by 11
Self-citationGenética de la muerte súbita inexplicada
Campuzano, Ó., Allegue, C., & Brugada, R. (2013) · Medicina Clínica · doi:10.1016/j.medcli.2013.06.015 · Cited by 11
“Saved by the Bell”: Near SUDEP during intracranial EEG monitoring
Baarmah, D., Donner, E. J., Ochi, A., Go, C., McCoy, B., Snead, C., Drake, J. M., & Jones, K. (2017) · Epilepsia Open · doi:10.1002/epi4.12093 · Cited by 11
“Near SUDEP is defined as a sudden, unexpected, nontraumatic, and nondrowning cardiorespiratory arrest in a person with epilepsy without a structural cause identified after investigation.(1) It occurs in benign circumstances, with or without evidence for a seizure, excluding documented status epilepticus, where the pat…”
BackgroundDerera, I. D., Smith, K. C., & Smith, B. N. (2018) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.00556.2018 · Cited by 11
The role of convulsive seizures in SUDEP
Nei, M., & Pickard, A. A. (2021) · Autonomic Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.autneu.2021.102856 · Cited by 10
Iyengar, S. S., Lapham, G., Buchhalter, J., Buchanan, G. F., Donner, E. J., Dumanis, S. B., Grzeskowiak, C. L., Fureman, B. E., Hirsch, L. J., Kukla, A., et al. (2025) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2025.110648 · Cited by 10
Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) — What Pediatricians Need to Know
Garg, D., & Sharma, S. (2020) · Indian Pediatrics · doi:10.1007/s13312-020-1986-4 · Cited by 10
Transition of Care in Epilepsy
Kanhere, S. V., & Joshi, S. M. (2023) · The Indian Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1007/s12098-023-04658-x · Cited by 10
“Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) is an epilepsy related cause of mortality [16], impacting 1% of patient lives per decade, and occurs at an increasing rate with age, approaching 7% in adulthood [16].”
Investigative practice into sudden death in epilepsy: A global survey
Kinney, M. O., McCluskey, G., Friedman, D. J., Walker, M. C., Sander, J. W. A. S., & Shankar, R. (2019) · Acta Neurologica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/ane.13080 · Cited by 10
SUDEP in Spain: An Epilepsy Monitoring Unit based case series
Sánchez‐Larsen, Á., Pérez, I. F., Príncipe, A., Ley, M., & Rocamora, R. (2019) · Seizure · doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2019.05.014 · Cited by 10
Learnings from deaths – the Epilepsy Deaths Register
Thomas, R. H., & Osland, K. (2019) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2019.106454 · Cited by 10
Paediatric sudden unexpected death in epilepsy: A parental report cohort
Craig, D. P., Choi, Y. Y., Hughes, E., Osland, K., Hanna, J., Kerr, M. P., & Thomas, R. H. (2020) · Acta Neurologica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/ane.13378 · Cited by 10
Proceedings of the Sleep and Epilepsy Workshop: Section 3 Mortality: Sleep, Night, and SUDEP
Buchanan, G. F., Gluckman, B. J., Kalume, F. K., Lhatoo, S. D., Maganti, R. K., Noebels, J. L., Simeone, K. A., Quigg, M., & Pavlova, M. K. (2021) · Epiliepsy currents/Epilepsy currents · doi:10.1177/15357597211004556 · Cited by 10
“Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is defined as the sudden, unexpected, witnessed or unwitnessed, nondrowning death of a person with epilepsy with or without evidence of a seizure and in whom postmortem examination does not reveal a structural, infectious, or toxicological explanation for the death.(1) Sudde…”
BackgroundRen, Y., Chang, J., Li, C., Jia, C., Li, P., Wang, Y., & Chu, X. (2019) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2019.00744 · Cited by 10
Trend of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy Incidence Rate in Rural West China
Wang, H., Chen, D., He, J., He, Y.-J., Liu, L., & Zhou, D. (2021) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.735201 · Cited by 9
“The criteria of probable SUDEP were in accordance with the definition of Nashef (12)—the epilepsy patient was found dead in benign circumstances, with no other relevant pre-existing conditions, but without post-mortem examination.”
MethodChallenges and future directions of SUDEP models
Gu, J., Shao, W., Liu, L., Wang, Y., Yang, Y., Zhang, Z., Wu, Y., Xu, Q. Y., Gu, L., Zhang, Y., et al. (2024) · Lab Animal · doi:10.1038/s41684-024-01426-y · Cited by 10
“As an example, Xie et al. developed a portable wireless ECoG system, and designed electrical circuits for signal acquisition, processing and transmission for wireless communication with cell phones using Bluetooth Low Energy 4.”
Metadata
- Authors
- Nashef, L., So, E. L., Ryvlin, P., & Tomson, T.
- Affiliations
- King's College Hospital (GB)
- Mayo Clinic (US)
- Lyon 1 Université (FR)
- Karolinska Institutet (SE)
- Corresponding author
- So, Elson L.
- Venue
- Epilepsia
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2011-12-22
- Volume
- 53
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 227-233
- ISSN
- 0013-9580 (ISSN-L)
- 1528-1167
- OpenAlex
- W1549808427
- Cited by
- 632
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 34 · 2025: 54 · 2024: 39 · 2023: 57 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 70 · 2020: 69 · 2019: 59 · 2018: 55 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 30 · 2015: 35 · 2014: 24 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 11.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Epilepsia (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Clinical Neurology › Epilepsy research and treatment
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Emergency Medicine › Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation
- Keywords
- sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, status epilepticus, cardiac arrest, SUDEP incidence, SUDEP risk factors, SUDEP prevention
- MeSH terms
- Death, Sudden, Epilepsy, Humans
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