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Mini Review Open Access
Volume 2 | Issue 1 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.33696/Gastroenterology.2.024

Importance of Autopsy from a Gastrointestinal Pathology Perspective: A Ten-year Review of 891 Autopsies

  • 1Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Hartford Hospital Hartford, CT 06102, USA
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Corresponding Author

Ayesha S Siddique, Ayesha.Siddique@hhchealth.org

Received Date: January 08, 2021

Accepted Date: February 22, 2021

Abstract

The major reason for the decline in autopsies in recent years is the ability to diagnose diseases and disorders that result in mortality with greater accuracy. With obesity being endemic in the United States, a greater understanding of the pathology underlying gastrointestinal/hepatobiliary/pancreatic (GIHBP) disorders plays a key role in understanding the cause of death in numerous cases. Despite the diagnostic evolution of medicine, autopsy findings still help us understand things that cannot be explained during surgical pathology reviews. Hence, we present a ten-year review of GIHBP findings from 891 autopsies.

A retrospective review of autopsies performed between January 1st 2009 and September 30th 2018 was done. Out of 891 autopsies, 415 cases were excluded since GIHBP findings were observed in 476 autopsies. The age range included 1 day to 117 years with a male predominance (480; 54%). The most common cause of death was cardiovascular/ pulmonary (264; 55.5%). The most common gastrointestinal (GI) findings in “GIHBP group” were bowel ischemia/necrosis/infection (32; 37.2%). The most common hepatobiliary/ pancreatic (HBP) findings in “GIHBP group” were cirrhosis/end-stage liver disease (37; 43.0%). The most common GI findings in “other causes of death” were incidental findings such as diverticula, polyps, hypertropias, bile duct adenomas, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, neuroendocrine tumors, other mesenchymal tumors and hemangiomas. The most common HBP findings in “other causes of death” were incidental hepatic congestion/necrosis.

GIHBP pathology accounts for the second most common cause of death in our review. Fatty liver was two times more common amongst patients with non-GIHBP causes of death than those with GIHBP causes.

Keywords

Autopsy, Gastrointestinal, Hepatobiliary, Pancreatic, Ischemia, Infection, Incidental findings

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