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Clinical necropsy rates during the 1980s: The continued decline
Author(s) -
Start R. D.,
McCulloch T. A.,
Benbow E. W.,
Lauder I.,
Underwood J. C. E.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
the journal of pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.964
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1096-9896
pISSN - 0022-3417
DOI - 10.1002/path.1711710113
Subject(s) - medicine , demography , mortality rate , surgery , sociology
The trends in necropsy rates during the 1980s in three groups of British teaching hospitals in Leicester, Manchester, and Sheffield were compared in a retrospective study. The clinical necropsy rates declined in all three cities: in Leicester, from 16 to 10 per cent; in Manchester, from 14 to 8 per cent; and in Sheffield from 18 to 11 per cent. The medico‐legal and overall necropsy rates showed variable trends between the cities. Specific events and changes in organization during the review period were correlated with the changing trends. The observed trends emphasize the continued decline in clinical necropsy rates over the last decade and illustrate the importance of monitoring differential necropsy rates.