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Updated: Feb 7, 2026
Comprehensive Autopsy Program for Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis
Published on: July 19, 2019
Decreasing use of autopsy for stillbirths and infant deaths: missed opportunity
Nathalie Auger1,2, Marianne Bilodeau-Bertrand3,4, Julie Poissant4
1University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre, 900 Saint-Denis, Montreal, QC, H2X 0A9, Canada. nathalie.auger@inspq.qc.ca.
Objective:
We assessed whether the tendency towards decreasing use of fetal and infant autopsy was associated with a greater proportion of deaths in which the cause is never found.
Study Design:
We computed autopsy rates over time for 13,466 stillbirths and 16,880 infant deaths in Quebec, Canada, 1981-2015. We assessed the proportion of deaths with an undetermined cause and determined the relationship with non-autopsy over time.
Result:
Autopsy rates declined by 29% for stillbirths and 36% for infant deaths during the study. The proportion of non-autopsied cases with an undetermined cause of death increased only for stillbirths, however. Among non-autopsied stillbirths, the risk of having an undetermined cause of death was 1.64 times higher in 2005-2015 compared with 1981-1992 (95% confidence interval 1.25, 2.15).
Conclusion:
Greater use of autopsy has potential to minimize the number of stillbirths with an undetermined cause of death, and may be helpful for prevention.
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