CURRENT DATA ON THE CAUSES OF SUDDEN DEATH OF THE ADULT IN ABIDJAN

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to identify the
causes of adult sudden death in order to prevent these deaths.
Material and methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study carried out over a period of 15 years (2002 to
2016) from forensic autopsy reports for sudden death of
adults in Abidjan.
Results: we identified 210 cases in this study period. The
majority of the deceased were male (84.8%) and were in
the 40-49 (21.4%) and 50-59 (33.8%) age groups, with
the average age being 47.6 years old. It was a non-Ivorian
population in 56.7% of cases with a significant share
of European nationals (49.6%). These deaths occurred
most often at home (35.7%) but also during evacuation to the hospital (15.7%) or even upon arrival at the
hospital (13.8%) and in particular between 06 am and
noon (28.6%). Cardiovascular (45.2%) and pulmonary
(27.1%) pathologies were the leading causes of sudden
death in Abidjan. However, the proportion of neurological
(10%) and infectious (9%) pathologies including severe
malaria (73.7%) as causes of sudden death in adults was
not negligible. In 6.7% of the cases, no cause was found.
Conclusion: These deaths affected an active adult population and necessitated a reinforcement of preventive measures,
notably the screening of risk factors.