Analysis of 621 death certificates issued from 1998 to 2007 in Curitiba, Brazil, mentioning epilepsy, epileptic seizures and/or status epilepticus

PURPOSE This study aims to study death records mentioning epilepsy, epileptic seizures and/or status epilepticus, in order to survey the population demographics and associated medical conditions, making it possible to outline the patient's profile. METHODS A qualitative analysis was performed on the data gathered from death certificates from the Curitiba county records ranging from 1998 to 2007 bracket, in which epilepsy, seizure and/or status epilepticus were mentioned as the basic, intermediate, immediate or associated cause of death. RESULTS Epilepsy was mentioned on 621 death cases in this 10-year-period. The deaths were mainly of male individuals (57.3%), Caucasian (71.6%), single (48.6%) and aged between 20 and 60 years (51.8%). Most of those who died were hospitalized patients (62.5%) and in 64.3% of the reported deaths, the patient received medical care during the event that led to his/her death. Epilepsy itself was considered to be the cause of death in 44%, followed by status epilepticus (9.7%). The most common intermediary and immediate causes were pulmonary infections (11.1%) and cardiac arrest (19.2%), respectively DISCUSSION Hospitalized younger Caucasian males with epilepsy were the most common cases in this 10-year-period survey. Pulmonary infections were a common finding, but other aspects such as previous trauma, cerebrovascular disease or neoplasm were eventual associated factors. Public health and medical preventative measures can be planned based on the results of this study.