Abstract
The recent decline in autopsy rates has many causes and has been the subject of vigorous debate amongst clinicians, pathologists, and investigators. For cardiologists, the lack of direct information on the vessel wall may impede the ability to develop and interpret new imaging methods and to understand the effects of the newest interventions.
Keywords: autopsy, pathology, vessel wall, imaging, interventions
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (19.6 KB).
References
- 1. Burton EC: The autopsy: A professional responsibility in assuring quality of care. Am J Med Qual 2002; 17: 213–214 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2. Shojania KG, Burton EC, McDonald KM, Goldman L: Changes in rates of autopsy‐detected diagnostic errors over time. J Am Med Assoc 2003; 289: 2849–2856 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3. Nichols L, Aronica P, Babe C: Are autopsies dead? Am J Clin Path 1998; 110: 210–218 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4. “Parents angry as organ scandal doctors cleared. ” The Telegraph (London, UK), 18th September, 2001.
- 5. “‘We have your baby's heart,’ 12 families told” . The New Zealand Herald, 3rd March, 2002.
- 6. Rosenbaum GE, Burns J, Johnson J, Mitchell C, Robinson M, Truog RD: Autopsy consent practice at US teaching hospitals: Results of a national survey. Arch Intern Med 2000; 160: 374–380 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 7. Hasson J: The autopsy and medical fallibility: A historical perspective. Conn Med 2001; 65: 283–289 [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 8. Lundberg GD: Low‐tech autopsies in the era of high‐tech medicine: Continued value for quality assurance and patient safety. J Am Med Assoc 1998; 280: 1273–1274 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 9. Edwards JE: Determination of the cause of death: Its relationship to cardiac disease and autopsy findings. Mayo Clin Proc 1999; 74: 739 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 10. Goraya TY, Jacobsen SJ, Belau PG, Weston SA, Kottke TE, Roger VL: Validation of death certificate diagnosis of out‐of‐hospital coronary heart disease deaths in Olmsted County, Minnesota. Mayo Clin Proc 2000; 75: 681–687 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 11. Virmani R, Burke AP, Kolodgie FD, Farb A: Pathology of the thin‐cap fibroatheroma: A type of vulnerable plaque. J Intervent Cardiol 2003; 16: 267–272 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 12. Burke AP, Virmani R, Haudenschild CC, Muller JE: 34th Bethesda Conference: Task Force #2—What is the pathologic basis for new atherosclerosis imaging techniques? J Am Coll Cardiol 2003; 41: 1874–1886 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 13. Waller B: Crackers, breakers, stretchers, drillers, scrapers, shavers, burners, welders and melters—the future treatment of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease? A clinical‐morphologic assessment. J Am Coll Cardiol 1989; 13: 969–987 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 14. Farb A, Burke AP, Kolodgie FD, Virmani R: Pathological mechanisms of fatal late coronary stent thrombosis in humans. Circulation 2003; 108: 1701–1706 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 15. White HD: Thrombolytic therapy in the elderly. Lancet 2000; 356: 2028–2030 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 16. Gertz SD, Malekzadeh S, Dollar AL, Kragel AH, Roberts WC: Composition of atherosclerotic plaques in the four major coronary arteries in patients greater than or equal to 90 years of age. Am J Cardiol 1991; 67: 1228–1233 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 17. Waller BF: The very elderly heart. Cardiovasc Clin 1988; 18: 361–410 [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 18. Combes A, Mokhtari M, Couvalard A, Trouillet JL, Baudot J, Henin D, Gibert C, Chastre J: Clinical and autopsy diagnoses in the intensive care unit: A prospective study. Arch Intern Med 2004; 23: 389–392 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 19. Deiwick M, Lohrer A, Hoffmeier A, Baba HA, Bocker W, Scheld HH: Postoperative death should be followed by autopsy—an analysis of the autopsy findings of the years 1990 and 1991 in a heart surgery center. Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1999; 47: 82–87 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]