[Intrauterine and perinatal mortality: comparative analysis of 3,904 necropsies, Hospital de Clínicas, Curitiba, from 1960 to 1995] / Mortalidade intra-uterina e perinatal: análise comparativa de 3.904 necropsias do Hospital de Clínicas de Curitiba no período de 1960 a 1995.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the influence of the perinatal, fetal or maternal pathological processes in the induction of intra or extrauterine death as a guideline to a better perinatal medical assistance.METHODS: The authors studied retrospectively 3,094 consecutive necropsy cases carried out in stillborn fetuses (NM) and newborns (ON) in the period between 1960 and 1995 in the SAP of HC, Curitiba. The data analyzed included sex, time of gestation and causes of death of fetus and newborns. All maternal conditions that might have contributed to intra or extrauterine fetal death were also studied.RESULTS: The prevalence of intrauterine death due to maternal diseases was two times higher than extrauterine. In contrast, the fetal diseases were responsible mainly for extrauterine deaths. Primary placental diseases were responsible for 30% of the deaths with low time of gestation and 40% of them in the end of gestation. The same group of diseases was responsible for only 15-9% of the extrauterine deaths. Diseases of labor contributed to 12-20% of deaths after birth while only 7 to 17% of intrauterine deaths.CONCLUSION: Necropsy studies contribute to the identification of pathologic processes which affect the patients of any medical center. If a pregnancy is associated with a certain disease, the epidemiologic data of this study can help to identify the period of major risk of death of the fetus or newborn.

[Brain hypoxic-injury of hemorrhagic pattern in newborns: analysis of 1028 autopsies from 1960 to 1995]. / Injúria hipóxico-isquêmica de padrão hemorrágico em encéfalos de neomortos do Hospital de Clínicas de Curitiba. Análise de 1028 casos de necrópsia entre 1960 e 1995.

Hypoxic-ischaemic injury of the central nervous system (CNS) in newborns is a very prevalent entity affecting 1 to 6 children per 1000 births. This injury may induce severe neurological sequelae. We present the analysis of 1028 consecutive cases of hypoxic-ischaemic CNS injuries of haemorrhagic pattern detected in autopsies performed at the Division of Anatomic Pathology, Hospital de Clínicas, University of Paraná, Brazil, from 1960 to 1995. The prevalence of these lesions was high (49.73%) amongst all autopsied newborns. The main types of haemorrhage were microscopical intra-parenchymal haemorrhages, intraventricular and periventricular haemorrhages and subarachnoid foci of bleeding. Our results emphasize that premature children constitute a high risk group for CNS haemorrhage needing special preventive therapeutic procedures to avoid neurological complications.