Comparison of needle autopsy with conventional autopsy in neonates.
Tru-cut needle biopsy postmortems were compared with the standard conventional autopsy in neonates. Twenty-five fresh deceased neonates between 33 weeks of gestation to below 28 days of life were examined by both the techniques. Tissue collection by needle biopsy varied from 92% for liver to 20% for spleen while lung, brain, and kidney gave intermediate results. The cause of death could be determined in 17 cases (68%) by needle biopsy and in 24 cases (96%) by conventional postmortem. In 14 of the 17 cases (56%) cause of death could be determined by biopsy which was in full concordance with the findings of the full autopsy, whereas 3 (12%) cases showed only partial concordance and the diagnosis were discrepant in 32% cases. Needle autopsy missed diagnosis of various congenital malformations, which can be discerned only after meticulous gross examination. Needle autopsy is of value when permission for a complete autopsy cannot be obtained.
Garg
Sonu
S
Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, India.
Punia
R P S
RP
Basu
Srikanta
S
Mohan
Harsh
H
Bal
Amanjit
A
D001344:Autopsy / Q000379:methods*; D001707:Biopsy, Needle / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002423:Cause of Death; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies