Drug-induced Sudden Death: A Scoping Review

Background The risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) can be increased with the use of drugs. However, it has been described heterogeneously in the literature. Objective This study aims to systematically review epidemiological studies dealing with drug-induced sudden death, describe their methodologies, and summarize the results found. Methods A scoping review has been carried out using Medline electronic database. The search was limited up to 2020. Epidemiological studies were included, and case reports or case series were excluded. Results Out of 3,114 potential articles, 74 were included. Most studies originated from North America (40.5%) or Europe (39.2%). Case-control (47.3%) or cohort (40.5%) studies were the most common designs. The data for outcomes and exposure were retrieved mainly from administrative databases (37.8%) or medical charts/hospital discharge reports (32.4%), but most studies used several sources of information. A composite variable of sudden death or SCD, mainly with ventricular arrhythmia, was the most frequently used endpoint. Only 18.9% of the studies included autopsy results to confirm the death. Psychotropic drugs were the most frequently studied. An increased risk of different outcomes for typical antipsychotics, tricyclic antidepressants, domperidone, and antiepileptics is suggested. Conclusion The methodologies used were highly heterogeneous, and the results were, in general, not conclusive. An improvement of the methodologies is needed to achieve a conclusion regarding the risk of SCD associated with drug use.