Case Reports Forensic Pathology 2025 Exercise 4: Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy: A Case Series

Authors

Stephanie Marks, OMS IV

Kansas City University

Kansas City, Missouri

Christine James, DO

Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology

Amanda O. Fisher-Hubbard, MD

Vice Chair And Associate Professor, Department of Pathology

Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine

Kalamazoo, Michigan

Primary Audience: Pathologists and Clinical Scientists
Secondary Audience: Residents, Laboratory Technologist/Scientist (Includes all sub-specialty areas), Students, Pathologist Assistants,  Laboratory Directors and Educators

Upon completion of this activity, you will be able to:

•  formulate a working differential diagnosis for sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP) in a forensic setting;
•  identify the autopsy and laboratory findings that support SUDEP;
•  recognize risk factors and comorbid conditions of epilepsy that narrow down the differential diagnosis in such cases;
• describe the significance of recent seizure activity and adherence to recommended epilepsy treatment plans that increase the risk of death; and
• analyze the cause of death designation by incorporating the circumstances of the event/disease that started the fatal course.