title: The role of endoscopic autopsy in trauma cases: the first report from Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The traditional autopsy is unpleasant for the family members of the dead person. The aim of this study was to assess abdominal traumas by a laparoscope and to determine the accuracy of laparoscopic examination in comparison with the traditional autopsy.
  
  
  METHODS
  From December 2004 through August 2005, 50 fresh cadavers (<24 hours old) of blunt trauma victims were selected. They were first assessed by a laparoscope for intraperitoneal and retroperitoneal organs and then the traditional autopsy was performed as gold standard. The organs were assessed regarding the nature and intensity of damages and the results were compared with laparoscopic findings. The diagnostic accuracy of laparoscope was determined for each case with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using Fisher's exact test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The accuracy for investigation of intraperitoneal and retroperitoneal organs and the overall accuracy values were significant. The accuracy of laparoscope for detecting intraperitoneal organ damage was 90% (95%CI of 81.7%to 94.8%) while for the retroperitoneal organs was 92% (95%CI of 84.7% to 96%). The overall accuracy of laparoscope was 84% (with 95%CI of 74.3% to 90.5%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The sensitivity and specificity of laparoscopic examination for intraperitoneal organs are acceptable but its accuracy for retroperitoneal organs is lower. Therefore, it seems that laparoscopic examination is an eligible substitute for the traditional autopsy.
authors: Department of Surgery, Loghman Hakim Hospital, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. hassan.peyvandi@gmail.com
authors: Hassan
authors: H
authors: Peyvandi
authors: Ali-Asghar
authors: AA
authors: Peyvandi
authors: Esmaeil
authors: E
authors: Hajinasrollah
authors: Rooh-Allah
authors: RA
authors: Yegane
authors: Mohammad
authors: M
authors: Talebpour
authors: Zahra-Beigom
authors: ZB
authors: Ourang
mesh_terms: D000007:Abdominal Injuries / Q000473:pathology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001344:Autopsy / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity