Stratifying sudden death risk in adults with drug‐resistant focal epilepsy: The <scp>SUDEP‐CARE</scp> score

International audience; Background and purpose - A clinical risk score for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) in patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy could help improve prevention. Methods - A case-control study was conducted including (i) definite or probable SUDEP cases collected by the French National Sentinel Mortality Epilepsy Network and (ii) control patients from the French national research database of epilepsy monitoring units. Patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy were eligible. Multiple logistic regressions were performed. After sensitivity analysis and internal validation, a simplified risk score was developed from the selected variables. Results - Sixty-two SUDEP cases and 620 controls were included. Of 21 potential predictors explored, seven were ultimately selected, including generalized seizure frequency (&gt;1/month vs.