Contents: Introduction to clinical autopsy
3. Indications of clinical autopsy
Royal Decree 2230/1982 of 18th June on clinical autopsies (in Spain) determines some situations where autopsy could be performed.
• Deaths in which an autopsy may help to explain existing medical complications.
• All deaths in which the cause of death or the main diagnosis is not known with reasonable certainty.
• Those cases where an autopsy can provide relevant information to the family such as hereditary diseases or to the general public (contagious diseases).
• Unexpected or unexplained deaths after medical or surgical diagnostic/ therapeutic procedures.
• Those dead patients who have participated in hospital protocols.
• Those natural seemingly unexpected or unexplained deaths, not subject to forensic jurisdiction.
• Deaths from high-risk infections and communicable diseases.
• All obstetric deaths.
• All pediatric and perinatal deaths.
• Deaths from environmental or occupational disease.
• Organ donor deaths in which a disease that may affect the receptor is suspected.