Department of Haematological Oncology, St Bartholomew's Hospital, Barts and the London NHS Trust, London, UK.
J Clin Pathol. 2011 May;64(5):412-4. doi: 10.1136/jcp.2010.086645. Epub 2011 Mar 8.
Hospital autopsy rates have been falling steadily over recent decades. One factor that has been implicated in this decline is the perception that the general public views postmortem examinations unfavourably and that this often makes clinicians reluctant to discuss autopsy with families and seek their consent. The aim of this study was to test this assumption.
OBJECTIVES/METHODS: In the division of lymphoid malignancies at St Bartholomew's Hospital, we suggested autopsy and discussed it in depth with the families of all the patients who died in hospital in an 8-month period in order to assess whether the autopsy rate could be increased by improving the approach to the relatives.
Consent for a postmortem examination was requested in 18 of 23 cases and granted in 16 cases, giving a consent rate of 89%, and an overall rate of autopsy of 69.5%.
The attitude of the general public is positive overall, and translates into high autopsy rates when the value of the examination is presented honestly and the details of the procedure are adequately explained.
近几十年来，医院尸检率一直在稳步下降。导致这种下降的一个因素是人们认为公众对尸检持负面看法，这常常使临床医生不愿与家属讨论尸检并征求他们的同意。本研究旨在检验这一假设。
目的/方法：在圣巴塞洛缪医院的淋巴恶性肿瘤科，我们建议进行尸检，并在 8 个月的时间里与所有在医院死亡的患者的家属深入讨论，以评估通过改进与家属的沟通方式是否可以提高尸检率。
在 23 例病例中，有 18 例请求进行尸检，并在 16 例中获得同意，同意率为 89%，尸检率总体为 69.5%。
总的来说，公众的态度是积极的，如果诚实地介绍检查的价值，并充分解释程序的细节，尸检率会很高。
