Profile of Autopsy in a Tertiary Hospital in Abuja, Nigeria: A Ten-Year Review

Abstract

Background: Hospital autopsy though acknowledged to be an important health care component is on significant decline worldwide. We present the autopsy rate of a tertiary hospital in a developing country. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analytic study of the autopsy records of the department of Histopathology and the Health records department of the National Hospital Abuja. Results: The crude autopsy rate in the hospital is 11% with an approximate annual rate of 86 autopsies. The commonest age group autopsied is the 31 to 40 year cohort, predominantly males in all ages. Coma, haemorrhagic and cardiac shock are the commonest immediate cause of death whilst cardiovascular lesions are the predominant underlying cause of death. Conclusions: Autopsy rate is low and gradually declining in the National Hospital Abuja . A concerted effort from clinician, pathologist, policy-makers and the general public is needed to arrest the trend