Abstract

This study outlines the current status of the autopsy practice and the medical records for autopsies at the Department of Pathology, Seoul National University Hospital. Total number of autopsy cases from 1954 to 1995 was 3,131. Adults aged over 17 were 371 cases and children were 2,515 cases. The demographic data in 245 cases was not available. The number of adult autopsies and its proportion among total number of autopsies during 10-year periods decreased from 144 cases (40%) during the 10-year-period from 1956 to 52 cases (3%) during the 10-year-period from 1986. The number of children cases during the same period groups increased slightly from 210 cases (58%) to 393 cases (25%). But the number of fetal cases increased rapidly from 7 cases (2%) to 1,146 cases (72%). Among fetal autopsies the proportion of fetuses died earlier than 24 weeks of gestation increased and this figure exceeds that of fetuses that died later than 24 weeks of gestation from 1992. Forty percent of the cases were submitted from the clinical departments of the Seoul National University Hospital but the remainders were referred from 73 hospitals. Final autopsy diagnoses were analysed according to the Korean Standard Classification of Disease (KCD)-3 coding system and by searching key words for all cases. Common diagnoses as coded among cases from 1990 were P9, P0, P2, Q2 and Q0. Common diseases by key words for adult cases were liver disease, tuberculosis and pneumonia. Common diseases for children cases were pneumonia, hyaline membrane disease, meningitis and tuberculosis. Through this study we could show the importance of autopsy services for fetuses. We could also establish a regular registration system for autopsies at general hospitals.

• Keywords: Autopsy;Epidemiology;Quality assurance;Medical records;