Reviving hospital autopsy in Nigeria: An urgent call for action

Abstract

It is no longer news that in most tertiary health institutions in Nigeria, hospital/clinical autopsy is for all intents and purposes, dead. What is most shocking, however, is that it appears that absolutely nothing is being done about it by relevant stakeholders. If this unpalatable situation is allowed to continue, a time will come when even the pathologist who possess the necessary skill to perform autopsies will become extinct, leaving the future practice of medicine blind to the many adverse consequences of clinical actions or omissions.[1] The importance of autopsies, especially hospital autopsies are well-documented. In addition to determining the cause of death, the autopsy remains a veritable tool for elucidating the changing spectrum of diseases; it allows confirmation, classification, and correction of antemortem diagnosis as well as identification of new and reemerging diseases. Beyond these, autopsy can serve as a quality assurance tool to assess the standards of clinical practice and can help grieving families in the psychological healing process by providing clearer explanations on the processes that led to the death of their loved ones. The discovery of hitherto unrecognized genetic diseases enable family counseling and prevention of serious consequences in family members.[1,2] Finally, the educational benefits of clinical autopsy are second to none; it provides a very unique learning opportunity where all interested parties, including the pathologist who performed the autopsy, to gain new insights into the disease process that led to the demise of the deceased.