PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Shanks, J H
AU  - McCluggage, G
AU  - Anderson, N H
AU  - Toner, P G
TI  - Value of the necropsy in perioperative deaths.
AID  - 10.1136/jcp.43.3.193
DP  - 1990 Mar 01
TA  - Journal of Clinical Pathology
PG  - 193--195
VI  - 43
IP  - 3
4099  - http://jcp.bmj.com/content/43/3/193.short
4100  - http://jcp.bmj.com/content/43/3/193.full
SO  - J Clin Pathol1990 Mar 01; 43
AB  - A series of 213 perioperative deaths was studied out of a total of 1451 consecutive necropsies carried out over three years. Discrepancies between the clinical and the necropsy diagnosis were assessed under four classes of discrepant diagnosis: class I, patient survival affected, treatable; class II, patient survival affected but not treatable; class III, correlated to cause of death but treatable; and class IV, incidental diagnosis which could not have been made before death. Major discrepancies of classes I and II were found in 44 (21%) and 62 (29%) cases, respectively. Minor discrepancies of classes III and IV were found in 63 (30%) and 101 (47%) cases, respectively. No discrepancies were found in 50 (23.5%) cases. These results confirm the continuing value of the necropsy in the assessment of perioperative deaths.