Consecutive autopsies on an internal medicine service.(Original Article) From: Southern Medical Journal | Date: April 1, 2004| Author: Burkhardt, Linda; Ferguson, Robert P.; Hennawi, George; Puthumana, Loveen | COPYRIGHT 2004 Southern Medical Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

Objectives: Autopsy rates continue to decline in the United States despite the demonstrated value of this procedure in many different settings. We sought to review clinical pathologic discordance information generated by autopsies on an internal medicine service in the urban United States and to determine whether resident services appear to influence autopsy rates.

Methods: We reviewed consecutive deaths and autopsies on an inpatient internal medicine service during a 30...