A study of the quality of perinatal autopsy in the former Northern Region

Abstract

Objective To assess the quality of perinatal autopsy.Design Review of all reports of post mortem examinations camed out following perinatal deaths from Population Former Northern Region of England.Methods Assessment of post mortem reports concerning their content and interpretation, the assessment camed out by panel comprising a pathologist, obstetrician and paediatrician.Results Reports were available for all 104 cases where post mortem examinations had been undertaken, of which 53 (5 1 %) met the minimum standards for such autopsies proposed by the Royal College of Pathologists. Interpretative comments were judged to be adequate in 5 1 (49%). ConclusionsThe quality of perinatal autopsies is frequently poor. Improvement requires increased awareness of the potential value of the autopsy, and more consultation between pathologists, obstetricians and paediatricians.

Cerebral palsy and placental infection: a case-cohort study

“…These data were available on a similar proportion of cases and the comparison sub-cohort. Although our hospital guidelines for the submission of placentas for pathological examination specify all placentas less than 34 weeks should be examined, for a variety of reasons, only a proportion of those placentas that meet the criteria for examination are actually submitted [18], a problem that is not unique to our institution [19-21]. Microbiological examination was not usually performed where there was a compelling reason for the preterm delivery, such as severe early onset pre-eclampsia.…”

Cross sectional survey of parents' experience and views of the postmortem examination

“…The uptake, quality, and value of postmortem examinations have been reviewed from the health professional's perspective,1 2 3 4 5 6 7 but literature on the family's views of the perinatal postmortem examination is limited. We asked mothers about their experiences and perceptions of the postmortem examination as part of an evaluation of a hospital based bereavement counselling service 8.…”

La muerte fetal y la muerte neonatal tienen origen multifactorial*

“…Si la autopsia es realizada en forma estandarizada por un patólogo perinatal ( [7][8][9][10] ), la información que se obtiene tiene un gran efecto en la forma cómo los padres son aconsejados en los riesgos para futuros embarazos y permite conocer la opinión de los padres sobre el diagnóstico prenatal temprano en futuros embarazos. Gran parte de esta valiosa información no puede ser obtenida de otra forma ( 11 ).…”

“…Por lo tanto, la autopsia del feto o recién nacido brinda valiosa información para los padres sobre el riesgo de futuros embarazos en caso de muertes fetales. Varios estudios han demostrado que de 14% a 46% de las autopsias brindan nueva información y, en alrededor de 10%, el diagnóstico definitivo de la causa de muerte es cambiado ( [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] ).…”