title: Sudden death and the theatre nurse.
abstract: Sudden death, by definition, is a death that is unexpected and for which the people concerned are unprepared. In one sense, all deaths are sudden, after all it takes only a few seconds to stop breathing. But many deaths are expected such as when a person has been ill for a long time or is very old and infirm, or has a known terminal condition. Should a normally healthy person die unexpectedly in the operating theatre during routine surgery or as a result of trauma then this may be described as 'Sudden Death'.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Edwards
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001293:Attitude to Death; D003645:Death, Sudden / Q000209:etiology; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D009871:Operating Room Nursing