The autopsy and pathological clinical correlation: an exercise that strengthens medicine

Background: the discrepancy indexes and the coincidence of the causes of death in clinical and morphological diagnosis are, in an indirect way, indicators of the quality of medical care. Objective: to describe the importance of the autopsy, as well as general aspects of the clinical-pathological co...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alberto José Piamo-Morales, Daisy Ferrer-Marrero, Digna Chávez-Jiménez, Isnerio Arzuaga-Anderson, Lourdes Palma-Machado
Format: Article
Language:Spanish
Published: Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Camagüey 2020-10-01
Series:Archivo Médico de Camagüey
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.revistaamc.sld.cu/index.php/amc/article/view/6887
Description
Summary:Background: the discrepancy indexes and the coincidence of the causes of death in clinical and morphological diagnosis are, in an indirect way, indicators of the quality of medical care. Objective: to describe the importance of the autopsy, as well as general aspects of the clinical-pathological correlation. Methods: a literature review in Spanish and English was carried out in PubMed, Hinari and SciELO databases from 2000 to 2019; 58 published documents were obtained, of which 27 were selected (10 original research articles, 12 reviews, 3 theses and 2 books). Results: autopsy allows the comparison of clinical and morphological findings; it is considered the final complement of the clinical investigation. As such, the autopsy is not simply a corrective measure of misdiagnosis with statistical purposes, but a monitoring of diagnosis procedures and techniques and knowledge refining. Conclusions: the systematic analysis of mistakes and successes is an inexhaustible source of possibilities to better treat every new patient. DeCS:AUTOPSY/standards; CAUSE OF DEATH/trends; DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS/prevention & control; CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS/diagnosis; REVIEW.
ISSN:1025-0255