Post-mortem diagnostics in cases of sepsis. Part 1. Aetiology, epidemiology and microbiological tests

Area of Science:

• Forensic Pathology
• Microbiology
• Clinical Medicine

Background:

• Effective diagnostic procedures exist for sepsis during clinical practice.
• Current post-mortem diagnostics for sepsis lack standardized protocols.
• Existing methods (autopsy, histopathology) may be insufficient for accurate sepsis-related death determination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the deficiencies in current post-mortem diagnostic standards for sepsis.
• To propose an improved methodology for medico-legal investigations of suspected sepsis deaths.
• To reduce errors in determining the cause of death and assessing medical care.

Main Methods:

• Review of current clinical and post-mortem diagnostic practices for sepsis.
• Emphasis on the necessity of integrating pre-autopsy clinical information.
• Requirement for sterile specimen collection for microbiological testing.
• Interpretation of microbiological results informed by sepsis epidemiology and pathophysiology.

Main Results:

• Current post-mortem examinations are limited, risking diagnostic errors.
• Inadequate data integration can compromise medico-legal opinions.
• A comprehensive approach is needed for accurate post-mortem sepsis diagnosis.

Conclusions:

• Standardized post-mortem diagnostic protocols for sepsis are urgently needed.
• Medico-legal investigations must incorporate detailed clinical history and microbiological findings.
• Adoption of a structured approach will enhance the accuracy of death investigations in sepsis cases.