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Infectious Causes of Death: An Autopsy-Based Study of 546 Cases

Soudabeh Eshaghi1, Fereshte Sheybani1, Aria Hedjazi2

  • 1Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

Open Forum Infectious Diseases
|February 18, 2025
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Autopsies revealed that pleuropulmonary infections were the leading cause of death in infectious disease cases. Diagnostic discrepancies between clinical and autopsy findings occurred in 22.4% of cases, emphasizing the need for improved diagnostic accuracy in infectious diseases.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Science
  • Pathology
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Accurate diagnosis of infectious diseases is vital for patient care and public health.
  • This study retrospectively analyzed infectious disease deaths in Mashhad, Iran.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify common causes of death from infectious diseases.
  • To assess agreement between clinical diagnoses and autopsy findings.
  • To examine predictors of diagnostic discrepancies.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of autopsy reports from March 2009 to February 2018.
  • Comparison of clinical diagnoses with autopsy results for 546 infectious disease cases.
  • Assessment of diagnostic discrepancies and their potential predictors.

Main Results:

  • Infectious diseases accounted for 1.9% of autopsied cases (546/28,451).
  • Pleuropulmonary infections were the most frequent cause of death (69.8%), followed by bloodstream (14.1%) and intra-abdominal infections (10.0%).
  • Diagnostic discrepancies were found in 22.4% of cases, notably in pleuropulmonary (29.1%) and central nervous system (CNS) infections (15.8%).

Conclusions:

  • Autopsy plays a critical role in identifying diagnostic errors in infectious disease cases.
  • Enhanced diagnostic capabilities are needed, especially for pleuropulmonary and CNS infections.
  • Reducing misdiagnosis through improved diagnostics can lead to better patient outcomes.
Keywords:
autopsydiagnostics errorsforensic medicineinfectious diseasesmortality

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