Key result
Thai SUNDS cases predominantly affect working-age men, presenting with normal BMI and lung congestion in ~89%.
Why the study?
Limited knowledge existed on the epidemiological and morphological characteristics of sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome (SUNDS) in Thai autopsy cases.
Observational
This autopsy study characterizes Thai SUNDS victims as predominantly young male blue-collar workers with normal BMI and structurally normal-weight hearts, dying in the early morning hours.
With limited knowledge on epidemiological and morphological characteristics of sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome (SUNDS), this study was aimed to identify such data in Thai SUNDS autopsy cases. All the cases were men and nondrug abusers aged 20-49 years old. Most cases were originated in the Northeastern region of Thailand. Half of them were found dead from midnight to 6 a.m., with a peak time at 2 a.m. The death rate was relatively higher in May and June. Most SUNDS cases were blue-collar workers (93.2%) and nonsmokers (60%), with a normal BMI (72.1%). Approximately one-fifth of the cases had detectable blood alcohol concentrations. Symptoms before death were respiratory difficulty, seizures, and urinary incontinence. Their mean heart weight was 329.8 ± 35.1 g. Their lungs (88.6%) had some degree of congestion. Acute pancreatitis was not found in these SUNDS cases, and approximately half (40.9%) of the cases had their gastric content <100 mL.
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Supawon Srettabunjong (2018) conducted an observational in Sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome (SUNDS). Sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome (SUNDS) was evaluated on Epidemiological and morphological characteristics. Thai SUNDS autopsy cases were exclusively men aged 20-49, mostly blue-collar workers (93.2%) with normal BMI (72.1%), presenting with mean heart weight of 329.8 ± 35.1 g and lung congestion (88.6%).
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