Sudden Death in Adults: A Practical Flow Chart for Pathologist Guidance

The medico-legal term “sudden death (SD)” refers to those deaths that are not preceded by significant symptoms. SD in apparently healthy individuals (newborn through to adults) represents a challenge for medical examiners, law enforcement officers, and society as a whole. This review aims to introduce a useful flowchart that should be applied in all cases of SD. Particularly, this flowchart mixes the data obtained through an up-to-date literature review and a revision of the latest version of guidelines for autopsy investigation of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in order to support medico-legal investigation. In light of this review, following the suggested flowchart step-by-step, the forensic pathologist will be able to apply all the indications of the scientific community to real cases. Moreover, it will be possible to answer all questions relative to SD, such as: death may be attributable to cardiac disease or to other causes, the nature of the cardiac disease (defining whether the mechanism was arrhythmic or mechanical), whether the condition causing SD may be inherited (with subsequent genetic counseling), the assumption of toxic or illicit drugs, traumas, and other unnatural causes.