Paucity of clinical autopsies, a great concern

Abstract

BACKGROUND. Clinical (hospital) autopsy rates have been in a great decline worldwide especially in Africa, Nigeria inclusive. Its role in ascertaining diagnosis, explaining pathogenesis, medical auditing and continuous medical education cannot be overemphasized. OBJECTIVE. To determine the frequency of clinical autopsies in our environment. METHODOLOGY. It is a retrospective review of clinical (hospital) autopsies in the Pathology department of Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) over a period of ten years (January 1999-December 2008) RESULT. Clinical autopsy rates were found to be very low, an average of I per year CONCLUSION. The frequency of clinical autopsies in our environment is very low. The place of awareness on its beneficiary role both to the public and medical practitioners should be emphasized.

Keywords: Clinical, autopsy, Jos University Teaching Hospital