Accuracy and validity of determined cause of death and manner of death following forensic autopsy prosection.

Autor: Shergill A; UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA armaanshergill@berkeley.edu., Conner P; Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UC Davis Medical Center, Davis, California, USA., Wilson M; UC Davis School of Medicine, Davis, California, USA., Omalu B; Bennet Omalu Pathology, Sacramento, California, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of clinical pathology [J Clin Pathol] 2024 Aug 16; Vol. 77 (9), pp. 628-631. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 16.
DOI: 10.1136/jcp-2023-208876
Abstrakt: Aims: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the accuracy and validity of the determination of cause of death (COD) and manner of death (MOD) at the completion of the forensic autopsy prosection.
Methods: We analysed 952 autopsy cases conducted from 2019 to 2020 and compared every patient's COD, other significant contributing factors to death (OSC), and MOD after prosection to their COD, OSC and MOD after completion of the final autopsy report.
Results: We found that 83% of cases (790 patients) did not have an unexpected change and 17% of cases (162 patients) exhibited a true change in their final diagnosis; the relationship between age and changes in COD and MOD was significant.
Conclusions: Our findings indicate that in the majority of forensic autopsy cases, medical professionals can reasonably complete death certification after the autopsy prosection. In addition to improving the accuracy of COD and MOD, advances in this field will enhance timely decedent affairs management, timely investigations of crimes and timely closure to families who have lost loved ones. We recommend implementing combined interventional education and consultation with expert pathologists, and a well-followed structured method of death classification as the best course of practice.
Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.
(© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)
Databáze: MEDLINE