BACKGROUND To analyze diagnostic accuracy of prompt post mortem Computed Tomography (pmCT) in determining causes of death in patients who died during trauma room management and to compare the results to gold standard autopsy during office hours. METHODS Multiple injured patients who died during trauma room care were enrolled. PmCT was performed immediately followed by autopsy during office ho...

In 1965, Abbiss asked the question if the autopsy was dead. (1) 45 years later, we again find ourselves challenged by the very same notion. The autopsy was previously the focus of modern medicine, playing a crucial role in the discovery, characterization and understanding of the pathological processes of diseases. The autopsy was at the heart of medical research, education and professional deve...

The autopsy has long been a fundamental aspect of medical practice and research. However, in the last 50 years, the proportion of deaths for which an autopsy is performed has decreased dramatically. Here we examine some of the reasons for the decline of the autopsy, as well as several interventions that have been proposed to revive it. We also present autopsy utilization data from the Lifespan ...

This overview article examines the applications of the psychological autopsy method in determining proximate causation in suicide cases. The article reviews the history of the psychological autopsy and describes its procedure and how it has proved helpful in explicating proximate causation. The five standards currently used by the courts to determine proximate causation in suicide cases are des...