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  • Title: Autopsy findings and clinical diagnoses: retrospective study of 3,117 autopsies.
    Author: Jurić G, Tentor D, Jakić-Razumović J.
    Journal: Croat Med J; 1999 Mar; 40(1):71-6. PubMed ID: 9933899.
    Abstract:
    AIM: To determine the extent of agreement between clinical and autopsy findings. METHODS: A 14-year retrospective study (1982-1995) of autopsies from the Departments of Internal Medicine and Surgery was performed at the Zagreb University Hospital Center, Croatia. The autopsy findings were compared with the clinical diagnoses. RESULTS: The autopsy rate among hospital deaths ranged between 23% and 33%. The overall rate of major discrepancies was 11.6% for all autopsy reports. The most common cause of death were cardiovascular diseases (40.9%), followed by malignancies (25.2%) and infections (12.9%). Among all cardiovascular diseases, myocardial infarction was the most frequently diagnosed (17.9%) and was misdiagnosed by clinicians in 16.5% of the cases. Incorrectly diagnosed malignancies were found in only 5.7% of the cases; hematological and lymphoid malignancies (48.8%) were the most common neoplasms and were usually confirmed before death. Infections were found in 46.9% of all autopsies. Bacterial pneumonias and peritonitis were overlooked in 67.5% and 23. 5% of the cases, respectively, in which they existed together with another serious condition. CONCLUSIONS: Modern technology has not improved the overall accuracy of clinical diagnoses. When an autopsy should be performed is still a matter of discussion.
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