[Clinical evaluation of autopsy in the aged]

On a general medical department with 54 beds, 801 patients (8.6%) expired between 1980 and 1984 in 780 of them (97.3%) autopsy has revealed. 58.4% of expired patients were over seventy years. In this age group autopsy data diverged from the underlying disease in 9.58%, however this ratio of patients under seventy was 8.56%, as well. Mistake of clinical diagnosis in the direct cause of death was 18.9% in the group of under seventy and 21.3% of over seventy. The highest ratio of mistakes in the underlying disease has occurred in diseases of malignancies (progressing with age). Referring to the direct cause of death, undiagnosed pulmonary embolism had in each age group an equal high ratio. Because of the augmented multimorbidity with age the autopsy in the elderly can serve for an improvement of diagnosis.