Correlation Between Clinical Diagnoses and Autopsy Findings in Critically Ill Children

Study objective. To examine the correlation between clinical diagnoses and autopsy findings in children who die in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Design. Retrospective chart review. Setting. PICU of a university-affiliated hospital. Patients. A consecutive sample of patients who diedin the PICU and had autopsies performed. Measurements and main results. Of 193 patients who died during the 71/2-year study period, 50 (26%) had autopsies performed. The mean age was 34.7 months (range 15 hours to 17 years), and the mean length of stay in the PICU was 12.2 days (range 2 hours to 60 days). Major admitting diagnoses included postoperative cardiac surgery (19), nonoperative cardiac disease (7), hematologic/malignant disorder (5), and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (5)