Pneumonia: Features registered in autopsy material.
BACKGROUND
Despite improvements in clinical practice, pneumonia remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Pathologic findings from autopsy reports could provide more precise and valid data on characteristics of pneumonia patients.


METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed autopsy reports of deceased patients admitted to the Institute for Pulmonary Diseases of Vojvodina in Sremska Kamenica, Serbia, between 1994 and 2003. The patients were classified into two groups: group 1 (n = 161) comprised patients in whom pneumonia was the main cause of death, while group 2 (n = 165) consisted of patients in whom pneumonia was confirmed at autopsy but had various different causes of death.


RESULTS
From 1776 patients who underwent autopsy 326 (18.3%) were diagnosed with pneumonia. The most common underlying diseases were atherosclerosis (29.4%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (26.7%), and malignancies (20.2%). Pneumonia was the main cause of death in 161 cases (group 1) while in group 2 major causes of death were heart failure (HF) (26.7%), acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (16.4%), and pulmonary embolism (PE) (10.9%). Multilobar involvement (91% vs.27%), pulmonary effusion (29% vs.14%), and lung abscess (23.6% vs.8.5%) were more frequently found in group 1, compared to group 2.


CONCLUSION
In patients with pneumonia who underwent autopsy most common underlying diseases were atherosclerosis, COPD, and malignancies, while major causes of death were: progression of pneumonia, HF, AMI, and PE.
['Kosjerina|Zdravko|Z|', 'Vukoja|Marija|M|', 'Vuckovic|Dejan|D|', 'Kosjerina Ostric|Vesna|V|', 'Jevtic|Marija|M|']
D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D000369:Aged, 80 and over D001344:Autopsy D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D011014:Pneumonia D012189:Retrospective Studies D055771:Serbia
Pneumonia Autopsy Causes of death Comorbidities Morphology