Causes of Sudden Unexpected Death in Childhood: Autopsy Findings from a Specialist Centre

Objectives: To investigate the aetiologies of sudden unexpected death from natural causes in children aged 1-18 years by retrospective examination of autopsy records from a single centre. Materials and methods: The post-mortem findings from 548 children (1996-2015) were examined. Details were entered into an established research database and categorized according to >400 pre-defined criteria. Results: There were 265 previously apparently healthy children and 283 with pre-existing, potentially life-limiting, conditions. There were more males than females (M:F 1.4:1), and deaths were more frequent in the winter. Infection was commonest accounting for 43% of all deaths. Non-infectious diseases were identified as cause of death in 28%, and 29% of all deaths were unexplained. There was no significant difference in the proportions of deaths in each category between the previously healthy children and those with pre-existing conditions. Conclusion: Sudden unexpected death is a rare presentation of death in childhood and those with pre-existing conditions may be more at risk. Standardisation of the post-mortem procedure in such cases may result in more ancillary investigations performed as routine and may reduce the number of cases that are 'unexplained'.