Death in hospital conditions

Abstract

Accurate information on the cause of death is obtained from expert teams based on pathological or forensic expertise. Reliable information can be obtained from physicians in hospital settings if the deceased person has been treated in such an institution and has previously been diagnosed with an illness (intrahospital mortality). Intrahospital mortality analysis provides reliable data that can be used in the planning of a bed fund, the amount of medication purchased, the purchase of equipment, the organization and creation of highly specialized medical teams (resuscitation team), the number of resuscitation procedures, the number of pathologists required for autopsy procedures, etc. The aim of the study was to determine the total number of deaths, to identify the most common causes of death and 10 leading diagnoses of deceased patients at the Internal Medicine Clinic, University Clinical Center Tuzla (UKC) during one calendar year (2011). Material and methodes: Archive material (case histories and reports of deceased patients of the Internal Medicine Clinic) were used. Results: During this period, 6 488 patients were treated at the Internal Medicine Clinic and 451 patients died. According to the analyzed data, the most common diagnoses and causes of death at the Internal Medicine Clinic were: cerebrovascular incidents 104 (20.84%), cardiogenic shock in 24 (5.31%), heart failure 59 (10.86%), hepatic coma with cirrhosis of the liver 25 (5.33%), sudden cardiac death 30 (6.53%), respiratory failure 15 (3.32%), myocardial infarction 41 (9.99%), multiorgan failure 18 (4.00%) , pulmonary edema 14 (3.10%), sepsis 6 (1.38%), pulmonary emboli 17 (3.82%), valvular heart disease 9 (1.92%), cardiorespiratory arrest 9 (1.92%) , malignant abdominal neoplasms in 23 (5.28%), pancreatitis 2 (0.44%), hematemesis 8 (1.76%), diabetes mellitus 4 (0.88%), lung tumor 1 (0.22%), chronic renal insufficiency 12(2.54%), suicidal intoxication 4 (0.88%), ileus 4 (0.88%), cachexia 3 (0.66%), restrictive cardiomyopathy 2 (0.44%), mesenteric thrombosis arteries 2 (0.44%), disseminated lupus erythematosus 2 (0.44%), coffee vein thrombosis inferior 2 (0.44%), and 1 (0.22%) died of an aneurysm aortic abdominalis, ventricular septal defect, amyloidosis, disseminated intravascular coagulation, systemic sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and breast tumors. Conclusion: During the analyzed period, 6488 patients were treated at the Internal Medicine Clinic and a total of 451 patients died. The most common cause of death in hospitalized patients is cardiovascular disease (n = 208; 41.68% of deaths), with cerebrovascular disease (n = 104; 20.84% of deaths) totaling 312 (62.25%) of deaths from cardio and cerebrovascular disease.