ABSTRACT

Aim:

In this study, we evaluated the consistency between the records made in the hospital automation system as well as the causes of death in the death certificates.

Methods:

Death certificates for the cases occurred in the hospital and data of the hospital automation system were retrospectively analyzed.

Results:

Out of 351 cases within a two-year period, 218 (62.1%) were male and the mean age of the cases was 67.1±0.7 years. Our findings showed that 87.5% (n=307) of the deaths in the hospital were among people 60 years of age and older and took place in the intensive care unit and the mean time to death was found to be 15.4±25.4 hours. It was recorded that 23.9% (n=84) of diseases or conditions directly leading to death were heart failure and 19.9% (n=70) of cases were cardiopulmonary arrest. The maximum consistency was found between the first recorded international classification of disease codes and myocardial infarction.

Conclusion:

Since the accuracy and consistency of death statistics are largely dependent on the nature of the physician-provided data, good knowledge of physicians regarding details on patient records and the causes of death is of great importance.