RESURRECTING MISTAKES

Since we featured the steady demise of the autopsy a US team have published 1 findings from 1994. In this substantial series from a major transplantation referral centre, nearly a third of examinations revealed sole or contributory causes of death which were both undiagnosed and potentially treatable.

 

Practice Point

More than a quarter of autopsies reveal undiagnosed and potentially treatable, sole or contributory causes of death

 
In an earlier Swedish comparison 2 of two-year periods 10 years apart, a halving of the 80% autopsy rate was accompanied by a doubling of the frequency of undiagnosed tuberculosis and a significant increase in the proportion of other infections.

 

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