Document Detail


Guidelines for autopsy investigation of sudden cardiac death.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  17952460     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Although sudden cardiac death is one of the most important mode of death in Western Countries, pathologists and public health physicians have not given this problem the attention it deserves. New methods of preventing potentially fatal arrhythmias have been developed, and the accurate diagnosis of the causes of sudden cardiac death is now of particular importance. Pathologists are responsible for determining the precise cause of sudden death but there is considerable variation in the way in which they approach this increasingly complex task. The Association for European Cardiovascular Pathology developed guidelines, which represent the minimum standard that is required in the routine autopsy practice for the adequate assessment of sudden cardiac death, including not only a protocol for heart examination and histological sampling, but also for toxicology and molecular investigation. Our recommendations apply to university medical centres, regional and district hospitals and all types of forensic medicine institutes. If a uniform method of investigation is adopted throughout the European Union, this will lead to improvements in standards of practice, allow meaningful comparisons between different communities and regions and, most importantly, permit future trends in the patterns of disease causing sudden death to be monitored.
Authors:
Cristina Basso; Margaret Burke; Paul Fornes; Patrick J Gallagher; Rosa Henriques de Gouveia; Mary Sheppard; Gaetano Thiene; Allard van der Wal;
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Practice Guideline; Review     Date:  2007-10-20
Journal Detail:
Title:  Virchows Archiv : an international journal of pathology     Volume:  452     ISSN:  0945-6317     ISO Abbreviation:  Virchows Arch.     Publication Date:  2008 Jan 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2007-12-21     Completed Date:  2008-04-22     Revised Date:  2011-03-02    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9423843     Medline TA:  Virchows Arch     Country:  Germany    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  11-8     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Pathological Anatomy, Department of Medical Diagnostic Sciences and Special Therapies, University of Padua Medical School, Padua, Italy. cristina.basso@unipd.it
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Autopsy / standards*
Cause of Death*
Death, Sudden, Cardiac / etiology,  pathology*
European Union
Female
Forensic Medicine
Hospitals, District
Hospitals, University
Humans
Male
Comments/Corrections
Republished in:
Pathologica. 2010 Oct;102(5):391-404   [PMID:  21361120 ]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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