Autopsy in elderly psychiatric inpatients: A retrospective review of autopsy findings of deceased elderly psychiatric inpatients in North Cheshire 1980-1996
E. Salib et al., Autopsy in elderly psychiatric inpatients: A retrospective review of autopsy findings of deceased elderly psychiatric inpatients in North Cheshire 1980-1996, MED SCI LAW, 40(1), 2000, pp. 20-27
Citations number
16
Categorie Soggetti
Public Health & Health Care Science","Research/Laboratory Medicine & Medical Tecnology
In this 17-year review of death certificates of elderly inpatients of a lar
ge psychiatric hospital in North Cheshire, the frequency, trend and value o
f performing autopsies were examined. Details of death certificates were co
mpared with certificates issued after post-mortem examination to see whethe
r an autopsy yielded any additional or relevant information about condition
s that art, not directly related to death but might well be of importance t
o public health.
The rate of post-mortem examination, at 9.5% of total hospital deaths, did
not show any significant trend over most of the review period. The vast maj
ority of autopsies examined had been requested by the coroner and not by th
e clinicians.
The review showed that an autopsy may be of some value in providing more in
formation regarding any underlying causes of death in elderly psychiatric p
atients, but has no value in ensuring higher rate of the recording of condi
tions such as dementia, in particular Alzheimer's disease.
Selective hospital autopsy in elderly psychiatric patients to verify, neuro
pathologically, the clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, will improve
our diagnostic accuracy and provide valid statistics to be used in estimat
ing prevalence, trends, risk factors and for use in all aspects of future r
esearch into Alzheimer's disease.