A study of patients referred from A&E for coroners post-mortem

A review of 179 autopsies was undertaken over a 1-year period to determine if clinically useful information was obtainable from coroners post mortems performed on patients referred from the A&E department. Fifty-six patients had undergone unsuccessful resuscitation. The leading causes of death w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Archives of emergency medicine 1993-06, Vol.10 (2), p.86-90
Main Authors: Kendall, I G, Wynn, S M, Quinton, D N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy
Autopsy
Biological and medical sciences
Cause of Death
Child
Child, Preschool
Coroners and Medical Examiners
Emergency and intensive care: techniques, logistics
Emergency Service, Hospital - standards
Humans
Infant
Intensive care medicine
Intensive care unit. Emergency transport systems. Emergency, hospital ward
Medical Audit
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Referral and Consultation
Resuscitation - adverse effects
Wounds and Injuries - etiology
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Summary:A review of 179 autopsies was undertaken over a 1-year period to determine if clinically useful information was obtainable from coroners post mortems performed on patients referred from the A&E department. Fifty-six patients had undergone unsuccessful resuscitation. The leading causes of death were heart disease and trauma. Discrepancies between the diagnosis made during resuscitation and the cause of death found at autopsy were revealed especially in those dying from noncardiac causes. Iatrogenic trauma from resuscitation attempts occurred in a significant number of cases. It is suggested that review of selected Coroners post mortems should be part of departmental audit, with a view to improving clinical skills.
ISSN:0264-4924
1472-0205
1472-0213
DOI:10.1136/emj.10.2.86