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Audit of necropsy reporting in East Anglia
J O Williams1, M J Goddard, G A Gresham
1East Anglia Regional Clinical Audit Team, Clinical School, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK.
Aims:
To establish criteria for the information to be included in a necropsy report, and to improve the quality of necropsy reporting in the Anglia Region.
Methods:
Discussion between Anglia histopathologists, based on the guidelines of the Royal College of Pathologists, led to a consensus about the ideal content of a necropsy report. Fifteen consecutive necropsies subsequently undertaken by each consultant were assessed against agreed standards. Reaudit was undertaken nearly two years later, without prior announcement.
Results:
The initial standards achieved for demographic details (70%), history (87%), external examination (43-97%), internal examination (76-95%), organ weights (73%), cause of death in OPCS format (94%), and conclusion (90%) were discussed by the group. Changes to necropsy reporting documentation were proposed. Reaudit showed improvement in nearly all categories.
Conclusions:
Necropsy reporting in East Anglia is currently carried out to a reasonably high standard, and improvements have occurred as a result of the audit. There was no evidence that reports on coroners' necropsies were of a lower standard than those done for the hospital. Improvement in the format of the documentation increases the likelihood that all relevant and important data are recorded.