Autopsy services for dementia patients

Chiefs of Pathology of every nonfederal hospital in Maryland were surveyed to determine their hospitals' experience with autopsies of dementia patients. Few pathology services had extensive, ongoing experience with these postmortem examinations, and many hospitals lacked special histochemical techniques or a referral system to evaluate them. Problems exist in obtaining postmortem examinations for dementia patients, especially those who die outside facilities with Autopsy Services.