An Audit of Medical Autopsy: Experience at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), Niger Delta Region, Nigeria.

ABSTRACT

Background: Autopsy is an essential auditing tool in clinical practice. ObjectiveS: The study set out to review all autopsies that were performed over a four-year period in order to determine the rate, indications, as well as the age and sex distribution of dead bodies, which autopsies were performed on them in the Hospital. Setting and Design: This was a retrospective study that was undertaken at the department of Pathology of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), Uyo, Nigeria between January 2007 and December 2010. Materials and Methods: All the cases of death that underwent pathological autopsies in the UUTH were reviewed. The autopsy records, clinical case notes, gross and histopathological specimens as well as slides were retrieved and examined. Results: A total of 1679 dead bodies were received at the mortuary of the institution studied during the 4-year period. Autopsies were performed in 78 cases giving a request rate of 4.7%. Coroner's autopsy was commonly performed, and this accounted for 60 (76.9%) cases, while the remaining 18 (23.1%) were clinical autopsies. Autopsies were commonly performed on male bodies more than females (M F = 2.61.0) with the majority having died at their second decade of life. It was observed that the majority (57.7%) of the request for autopsies were from peripheral centers outside the teaching hospital, while the remaining 42.3% cases were drawn from various clinical departments in the teaching hospital. Road traffic accident was the leading indication for coroner's autopsy (51.7%), while gastroenteritis and chronic liver disease were the two most common indications for clinical autopsy, 27.8% and 22.2% respectively. The concordance rate between clinical diagnosis and autopsy diagnosis was found to be 72.2% (13/18 cases). Conclusion: The rate of request for Autopsy at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital during the period of this study was low, similar to other previous reports.