Back-to-Sleep for People with Epilepsy?

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) claims up to 9 people per 1000 person-years in drug-resistant populations. By definition, SUDEP occurs under benign conditions and excludes status epilepticus, trauma, or drowning. Risk factors include poorly controlled generalized tonic-clonic seizures, early onset, and nocturnal seizures. SUDEP victims are frequently found prone in bed, prompting comparisons with sudden infant death syndrome. The authors therefore studied whether prone positioning was a SUDEP risk factor.

Using a systematic review and meta-analysis, the authors identified 25 published SUDEP studies in which body position at death was documented. Of the 253 SUDEP cases that met study criteria, 73.3% of patients were discovered pro…