[Pathologicoanatomic evaluation of the sequelae of medical manipulations].

Evaluation of 3576 autopsies conducted in the clinical prosection room of the First Moscow Medical Institute in 1982-1986 suggests a high frequency of manipulation-induced iatrogenic disease which appeared 3 times that of drug-induced one. Manipulative treatment was found to be an underlying cause of death and essential in thanatogenesis in 3.1% of cases, this figure being on the increase. Of the overall iatrogenic pathology registered, the proportion of that due to manipulative treatment reached 72.7%, being 16.4 and 10.9% for diagnostic manipulations, surgical and anesthesia procedures, respectively. Physicians' errors resulted in iatrogenic diseases in 60% of cases, subjective faults entailed these in 30% of cases which intravitally remained undetected. The tendency to the growing occurrence of iatrogenic pathology is believed to arise in response to imperfection of medical equipment and defects of therapeutic policy.