Sudden unexpected death in emergencies and the importance of autopsies

This study considers 41 autopsies performed after cases of sudden unexpected death, in this case 3.8% of all people pronounced dead by the emergency physician between 1985 and 1997. 32 men and 9 women mere concerned. The age distribution peak lay in the sixth decade of life, 19 were above 60. As expected, coronary artery disease was the cause of death in most cases (27 deceased), followed by cardiac disease without involvement of the coronary arteries (4), respiratory disease (3), diseases of the central nervous system (3), and abdominal illness (1). The demise of two further persons was due to acute hypovolaemic shock. Most cases of sudden unexpected death can be explained by a postmortem examination. This emphasizes the need for an autopsy in all such cases, especially when the deceased is unknown to the emergency physician and the family doctor cannot be contacted.