title: Reference ranges for organ weights of infants at autopsy: results of >1,000 consecutive cases from a single centre.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Infancy is the most common period for childhood death, including both neonatal deaths from obstetric or medical complications and sudden unexpected infant deaths. The weighing of organs at autopsy is an established process and is recommended in current protocols. However, minimal contemporary data is available regarding reference ranges for organ weights of infants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Organ weight data for consecutive infant autopsies over a 14 year period performed at a single tertiary centre, including >1,000 cases, were examined in order to provide up to date reference ranges across this age range, using linear regression modelling and the standard LMS method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  1,525 infant autopsies were analysed, of which 1,190 were subsequently used in the creation of linear regression models prior to performance of the LMS method. Organ weight charts were produced for the 5th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 95th centiles for the heart, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys, pancreas, thymus gland and adrenal glands.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides the largest single centre contemporary dataset of infant autopsies allowing provision of up-to-date 'normal' ranges for all major organ weights across this age range.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histopathology, Camelia Botnar Laboratories, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Great Ormond Street, London WC1N 3JH, UK ; Institute of Child Health, UCL, London, UK.
authors.forename: Jeremy W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Pryce
authors.affiliation: Institute of Child Health, UCL, London, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Bamber
authors.affiliation: Department of Histopathology, Camelia Botnar Laboratories, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Great Ormond Street, London WC1N 3JH, UK.
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Ashworth
authors.affiliation: Department of Histopathology, Camelia Botnar Laboratories, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Great Ormond Street, London WC1N 3JH, UK.
authors.forename: Liina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kiho
authors.affiliation: Department of Histopathology, Camelia Botnar Laboratories, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Great Ormond Street, London WC1N 3JH, UK.
authors.forename: Marian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Malone
authors.affiliation: Institute of Child Health, UCL, London, UK.
authors.forename: Neil J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Sebire
keywords: Autopsy; Infant; Organ weights; Postmortem