Archivo Médico de Camagüey (Oct 2020)
The autopsy and pathological clinical correlation: an exercise that strengthens medicine
Abstract
Background: the discrepancy indexes and the coincidence of the causes of death in clinical and morphological diagnosis are, in an indirect way, indicators of the quality of medical care. Objective: to describe the importance of the autopsy, as well as general aspects of the clinical-pathological correlation. Methods: a literature review in Spanish and English was carried out in PubMed, Hinari and SciELO databases from 2000 to 2019; 58 published documents were obtained, of which 27 were selected (10 original research articles, 12 reviews, 3 theses and 2 books). Results: autopsy allows the comparison of clinical and morphological findings; it is considered the final complement of the clinical investigation. As such, the autopsy is not simply a corrective measure of misdiagnosis with statistical purposes, but a monitoring of diagnosis procedures and techniques and knowledge refining. Conclusions: the systematic analysis of mistakes and successes is an inexhaustible source of possibilities to better treat every new patient. DeCS:AUTOPSY/standards; CAUSE OF DEATH/trends; DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS/prevention & control; CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS/diagnosis; REVIEW.
