The Effect of Coding Method on Cause-of-Death Rankings

Background: Cause-of-death rankings are often used for planning or evaluating health policy measures. In the European Union, some countries produce cause-of-death statistics by a manual coding of death certificates, while other countries use an automated coding system. The outcome of these two different methods in terms of the selected underlying cause of death for statistics may vary considerably. Therefore, this study explores the effect of coding method on the ranking of countries by major causes of death. Method: Age and sex standardized rates were extracted for 33 European (related) countries from the cause-of-death registry of the European Statistical Office (Eurostat). Wilcoxon’s rank sum test was applied to the ranking of countries by major causes of death. Results: Statistically significant differences due to coding method were identified for dementia, stroke and pneumonia. These differences could be explained by a different selection of dementia or pneumonia as underlying cause of death and by a different certification practice for stroke. Conclusion: Coding method should be taken into account when constructing or interpreting rankings of countries by cause of death.

Omadacycline for the treatment of Legionella pneumophila pneumonia caused by drowning:a case report

Drowning is a major cause of preventable death and pathology worldwide.Every year,more than 295,000people die from accidental drowning.Ninety percent of accidental drowning deaths occur in low-and middleincome countries,and nearly half occur in people under the age of 25.

Population attributable risks of cigarette smoking for deaths of all causes, all cancers and other chronic diseases among adults aged 40-74 years in urban Shanghai, China

Objective： To evaluate the population attributable risks （PARs） between cigarette smoking and deaths of all causes, all cancers, lung cancer and other chronic diseases in urban Shanghai. Methods： In total, 61,480 men aged 40-74 years from 2002 to 2006 and 74,941 women aged 40-70 years from 1997 to 2000 were recruited to undergo baseline surveys in urban Shanghai, with response rates of 74.0% and 92.3%, respectively. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to estimate relative risks （RRs） and 95% confidence intervals （95% CIs） of deaths associated with cigarette smoking. PARs and 95 % CIs for deaths were estimated from smoking exposure rates and the estimated RRs. Results： Cigarette smoking was responsible for 23.9% （95% CI： 19.4-28.3%） and 2.4% （95% Ch 1.6- 3.2%） of all deaths in men and women, respectively, in our study population. Respiratory disease had the highest PAR in men [37.5% （95% CI： 21.5-51.6%）], followed by cancer [31.3% （95% Ch 24.6-37.7%）] and cardiovascular disease （CVD） [24.1% （95% CI： 16.7-31.2%）]. While the top three PARs were 12.7% （95% CI： 6.1-19.3%）, 4.0% （95% CI： 2.4-5.6%）, and 1.1% （95% CI： 0.0-2.3%）, for respiratory disease, CVD, and cancer, respectively in women. For deaths of lung cancer, the PAR of smoking was 68.4% （95% CI： 58.2- 76.5%） in men. Conclusions： In urban Shanghai, 23.9% and 2.4% of all deaths in men and women could have been prevented if no people had smoked in the area. Effective control programs against cigarette smoking should be strongly advocated to reduce the increasing smoking-related death burden.

Study of Mortality and Causes of Death in the Service of Stomatology, Maxillofacial and Plastic Surgery of the Face at Cocody Teaching Hospital (RCI)

Introduction: The study of mortality is an indicator that allows a control and a review of the therapeutic measures in the hospital environment. The purpose of this work was to determine the epidemiological profile of the patients who died and analyse the circumstances of the death in a hospital service. Material and Methods: It is a retrospective descriptive study conducted in the service of Stomatology, maxillofacial and plastic surgery of the face over a period of 10 years (from January 1999 to December 2008). Seventy-two cases have been taken into account. Results: The crude death rate was 4.29%. Higher level of male has been noted with a sex ratio of 1.77. The most affected age groups were the 3rd and 2nd decades, respectively with 20.8% and 19.4% with an average age of 39 years. Cellulitis of the face and their complications were responsible for deaths in 58.33% of cases. The majority of deaths occurred between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. (65.28%). These deaths were preventable in 5.6% of cases. Conclusion: Facing the lack of description of the ultimate circumstances of death in the medical records, the conclusion of this study has been the establishment of a regular medical audit in the service, which would track mortality in order to reduce its rate.

Causes of Maternal Mortality According to Reports of Maternal Death Audits in the University Teaching Hospital Bogodogo (UTH-B) from January to December 2017

Objective: To study causes of maternal mortality according to reports of maternal death audits in the University Teaching Hospital Bogodogo (UTH-B) of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Materials and Method: This was a prospective study that took place over a year from 1 January to 31 December 2017.? It concerned maternal deaths that occurred during this period in the obstetrics and gynecology department of the University Teaching Hospital Bogodogo (UTH-B). All maternal deaths were systematically audited by the audit committee;interviews with providers and families were sometimes conducted. The record books of all patients were analyzed by the audit committee;if necessary, interviews were conducted with care providers and families. The main information collected were recorded on individual files, entered and analyzed using the software Epi-info 7. Result: During the study period, we recorded 32 maternal deaths i.e., 587 per 100,000 live births. Deceased women under age 20 were the most numerous, followed by women aged 20 to 24. The death occurred in most cases in the puerperium in 69.80% of cases. Complications of pregnancy were the most incriminated causes in maternal deaths. Bleeding was the leading cause, accounting for 34.3%. They are followed by hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (21.8%) and infections (18.8%). In the contributing factors, resource factors were incriminated in 56.2% of cases, social factors in 43.7% of cases and medical factors in 25.4% of cases. Death was non-preventable in 76.2% of cases compared to 23.8% of preventable deaths. Conclusion: Maternal mortality is a major public health problem at the maternity hospital of the university hospital Yalgado Ouedraogo. Hemorrhage is the first cause of death. Hypertensive diseases are more and more worrying. Solutions must be found to improve the practice of audits in the obstetrics and gynecology department of UTH-B.

The Survival of Head and Neck Carcinoma Patients Depends on Secondary Causes of Death

Purpose: The study aimed to analyse causes of death and differential survival after multimodal treatment of head and neck carcinoma patients. Methods and Materials: Between September 2000 and December 2015, 935 patients received a multimodal treatment of head and neck carcinoma. Of these, 562 patients (60.1%) underwent a resection of the primary tumour and a postoperative radio- or radiochemotherapy and 373 patients (39.9%) received definitive radio- or radiochemotherapy. The median follow-up was 21.0 months (0.5 - 175.4 months). Results: At the endpoint of the investigation, 465 patients (49.7%) were alive. The median survival of all patients was 44.8 months (0.5 - 164.3 months). A total of 470 patients (50.3%) died. The causes of death were divided into five groups: 22 patients (2.4%) died of therapy-associated complications with a median of 2.2 months (1.6 - 3.3 months). The 160 patients (17.1%) with intercurrent death, 117 patients (12.5%) with deaths from locoregional progression with or without metastasis, and 86 patients (9.2%) with deaths from metastasis without locoregional recurrence showed comparable survival curves with a median survival of 13.3 months, 13.6 months, and 14.4 months. Eighty-five patients (9.1%) died from second malignant diseases and controlled treated head and neck carcinomas with a median survival of 34.5 months (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Despite a locoregional control and metastasis-free survival of 78.3% patients, only 49.7% of the patients were alive, due to a high rate of intercurrent and second malignant diseases. The short median survival rate is mainly due to the tumours (locoregional and or distant progression) and intercurrent causes of death, with the second malignant diseases leading to death later on.

Causes of Death among HIV-Infected Adults Registered in Selected Anti-Retroviral Therapy Centers in North-Eastern India

Background: Causes of death related studies in HIV infected population are necessary to devise disease specific preventive interventions at both state and national level HIV programs. This study examines the causes of death among HIV-infected individuals registered at selected Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) centers in the era of treatment in north-eastern India. Data and Methods: A retrospective chart review of causes of death was undertaken among HIV-infected patients who were treated between January 2006 and November 2012 at three selected ART centers in Assam, a north-eastern state of India. Reported causes of death were coded as per the guidelines of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) to determine the deaths to standard definitions. Results: Among 5612 HIV-infected patients registered over a period of 71 months, 370 deaths have occurred. Tuberculosis (28%) was the leading cause of death followed by death due to AIDS related complex (11%), wasting syndrome and multiple infections (9% each). Deaths due to selected causes were significantly associated with patient’s use of alcohol, WHO clinical stage, CD4 count at the time of diagnosis, presence of opportunistic infections during treatment and ART adherence. Median survival duration was shortest among patients who had CD4 count <50 at the start of ART (2.9 months) and patients who had multiple opportunistic infections during treatment (2.5 months). Discussion: Majority (67%) of deaths in our study were due to AIDS-related causes. Tuberculosis has remained the leading cause of death among the HIV patients on ART. Strengthening the linkages and referral between the HIV and TB program will be crucial to reduce the AIDS-related deaths attributed to tuberculosis.

Extracting Leading Joint Causes of Death and Mining Associations between Them

The gains in analyzing death from a multiple cause perspective have been recognized for a very long time. Methods that have been adopted have sought to determine additional gains made by treating death as a multiple cause phenomenon as compared to analysis based on a single under-lying cause. This paper shows how association rules mining methodology can be adapted to determine joint morbid causes with strong and interesting associations. Results show that some causes of death that do not appear among the leading causes show strong associations with other causes that would otherwise remain unknown without the use of association rules methodology. Overall, the study found that the leading joint pair of causes of death in South Africa was metabolic disorders and intestinal infectious diseases which accounted for 18.9 deaths per 1000 in 2008, followed by cerebrovascular and hypertensive diseases which accounted for 18.3 deaths per 1000.

What did Sun Yat-sen really die of?A re-assessment of his illness and the cause of his death

This year is the 150 th anniversary of the birth of Sun Yat-sen(November 12, 1866) and the 91 st year following his death(March 12, 1925). It generally has been believed that the cause of his death was "liver cancer." However, as indicated in the oicial autopsy report, dated March 13, 1925, of the Peking Union Medical College Hospital(PUMCH) in Beijing, the cause of his death in reality was an adenocarcinoma of the gallbladder with direct extension to the liver and diaphragm as well as widespread metastases to the peritoneal cavity. This important piece of information seems to have never been reported in the English language literature, and it was only in 2013 that the true cause of his death was stated in a one-line sentence in a non-medical Chinese online source. It had been mistakenly believed that the cause of Dr. Sun's death was liver cancer, based on the observations made following an exploratory laparotomy, which had been performed at PUMCH on January 26, 1925. The purpose of this short report is to provide more details relating to his terminal illness and to correct the historical record for a medical audience as to the cause of the death of Sun Yat-sen, a very important igure in the history of 20 th century China.

Survival and risk analysis of patients with COVID-19 in Iran

Objective:To evaluate the risk factors of death caused by COVID-19 in Iran.Methods:This study was a retrospective cohort study from February 20,2020,to August 22,2022,in the hospitals in Isfahan,Iran.The data were collected through a researcher-made checklist.To determine the risk factors of the death,logistic regression and Cox regression models were used.For each variable,the odds ratio and 95%confidence interval were also reported.Results:1885 Patients were included.The age of deceased persons was significantly higher than that of the surviving persons.The risk of death for the age group above 60 years was about 14 times higher than that of people aged 19-35 years[95%CI:14.41(2.02-102.99),P<0.01].Hypertension[95%CI:1.92(1.47-2.5),P<0.01],diabetes[95%CI:1.62(1.23-2.13),P<0.001],and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease[95%CI:1.92(1.47-2.50),P<0.01]were also risk factors of mortality.Conclusions:This study reveals that the mortality rate due to COVID-19 is associated with old age,longer hospitalization in the ICU,increased length of stay,and comorbidities of high blood pressure,diabetes,and chronic pulmonary disease.

Mortality from chronic liver disease:Recent trends and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Prepandemic time trends in mortality from chronic liver disease(CLD)differed according to specific cause of death(decreasing for liver cirrhosis,stable or increasing for liver cancer),etiology(increasing for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease,generally decreasing for other etiologies),and world region(decreasing in areas with the highest burden of hepatitis B virus,increasing in Eastern Europe and other countries).The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic affected mortality of patients with CLD both directly,with a higher risk for severe illness and death depending on age,stage and etiology of the disease,and indirectly,through social isolation and loss of support,harmful drinking,and difficulties in access to care.Nevertheless,only sparse data are available on variations in CLD as a cause of death during the pandemic.In the USA,in 2020-2021 a growth in mortality was registered for all liver diseases,more marked for alcoholic liver disease,especially among young people aged 25-44 years and in selected ethnic groups.COVID-19 related deaths accounted only for a minor part of the excess.Further data from mortality registers of other countries are warranted,preferably adopting the so-called multiple cause-of-death approach,and extended to deaths attributed to viral hepatitis and liver cancer.

Review of Maternal Deaths in Two Health Regions of Togo: About 69 Cases (Epidemiological and Sociodemographic Aspects)

Introduction: Maternal mortality is a public health problem. It is common in hospitals in Togo. From 401 per 100,000 live births in 2013, in 2017 we are 396 per 100,000 live births. Despite several programs ranging from subsidized caesarean section (CARMA) yezou (assistance for pregnant women), the establishment of maternal death reviews in maternity wards to compensate for avoidable causes;we are seeing preventable maternal and fetal deaths in our hospitals. No study on these reviews has been done since its establishment. The objective of our study was to determine the frequency of reviews of maternal deaths, the epidemiological, sociodemographic aspects and the causes of these reviewed maternal deaths. Method: This was a descriptive and cross-sectional, multicenter study lasting four and a half years, from the 1st of January 2018 to the 30th of June 2022, relating to the review of maternal deaths in three reference hospitals of two health regions of south Togo. Any maternal death occurring in one of these hospitals during the study period was included in this survey. The data collected using a collection sheet were analyzed using Epi Info version 7 software. Results: During the study period, the maternal mortality ratio in the three hospitals was 722.3 per 100,000 live births. Only 12.2% of maternal deaths were reviewed in the three hospitals. The patients were young with an average age of 29.9 years, housewives (71%), uneducated (21.7%). The causes of maternal deaths were dominated by direct obstetric causes (89.7%). The main cause was hemorrhage (72.5%), the main cause being immediate postpartum hemorrhage (50.7%). Conclusion: This study shows that the maternal mortality ratio still remains high in our country with a low frequency of maternal death reviews. Young, poor, uneducated women are the most affected by these deaths, the main cause of which remains hemorrhage. Preventive measures deserve to be taken at all levels with a view to reducing maternal mortality.

Causes of Death in Patients with Aortic Aneurysmal Disease (1987-2014)

Introduction: This study examined the cause of death of patients with aortic aneurysms treated for this disease between 1987 and 2014 to understand the current natural history of this condition. Methods: This study results from analysis of a prospectively maintained data base of patients treated by the author. Data points were obtained from practice records and supplemented by data made available through CHeRL (Centre for electronic Health Record Linkage). Six hundred and twenty two patients were treated consecutively between 1987 and 2014. At closure of the study in 2014, 402 patients had died and date of death was available. Cause of death was available by ICD (International Classification of Diseases) 9 or 10 in 89% of patients. Method of treatment of aneurysmal disease was available in all patients. Ethics approval for this study was obtained from the Centre for Health Research, Cancer Institute, New South Wales Department of Health. Statistical analysis was conducted by comparison of mean ±95% conference interval. Where appropriate contingency table analysis was constructed. Statistical significance was accepted at P Results: Mean age at presentation was 75.6 years (95%C.I. 74.8 - 76.3). Mean age at death was 81 years (95%C.I. 80.2 - 81.7). Predicted age at death based on Australian Bureau of Statistics life tables was 86.25 years (95%C.I. 85.8 - 86.8). Between 1987 and 1999, mean age at presentation was 74.5 years (95%C.I. 73.3 - 75, n = 304, Females = 78). Between 2000 and 2014, mean age at presentation was 75.3 years (95%C.I. 74.1 - 75, n = 318, females = 54). The difference for females presenting 1987 to 1999 compared 2000 to 2014 was significant, p Conclusion: Patients with successfully treated aneurysmal disease can expect to survive 5 - 8 years post-treatment. Presentation with aortic aneurysm rupture results in significantly shortened life expectancy. Patients presenting in the ninth decade of life and with less than 5 years life expectancy may not benefit from elective repair of aortic aneurysm.

Modeling Severity of Tuberculosis as a Multiple Cause of Death in South Africa

The multiple cause of death (MCOD) analysis is used to account for the full contribution of TB as a cause of death to South African mortality in 2008 that were coded using ICD10. Following a review of MCOD methods, a sufficient set of variables for use in MCOD and a new method of quantifying the severity of each cause of death are proposed. The results show that a total of 86,818 (14.3% of all deaths) were TB related, and within all deaths due to natural underlying causes, 86,373 (16.1%) were TB related. Furthermore, 42,581 (7.9%) were due to TB only, 6.0% had TB as an underlying cause along with other contributory causes and 2.0% had TB as a contributory cause. TB was mentioned as the underlying cause of death in 74,863 certificates or 13.9% of deaths due to natural underlying causes. Further analysis using multinomial baseline logit models, reveals that the relative odds of death in any demographic group compared with death in the baseline categories depend on the severity level of TB considered. It is proposed that the severity measure should be adopted when studying the contribution of all main causes of death to total mortality.

Analysis of Cause of Death in Inner Mongolia of China, 2008-2014

Objective: The aim of our study was to analyze the character of cause of death in Inner Mongolia of China from 2008 to 2014. Methods: We collected data from monitoring points of the Death Registry System (DRS) in Inner Mongolia. We calculated the mortality rates by gender, year and age-specific. We calculated the proportion, the mortality rate and potential years of life lost (PYLL) of various system deaths. Results: During the period 2008-2014, the average crude mortality rate of all cause of death was 539.33/105. The mortality rate increased semilogarithm linearly with age. The top four system deaths were circulatory system, neoplasm, respiratory system and injury. In 2014, the mortality rates of circulatory system were increased and the mortality rates of certain infectious and parasitic diseases, neoplasms, respiratory system, genitourinary system and injury were decreased compared to those in 2008. Conclusion: Through analysis the indicators of proportion, the mortality rate and PYLL indicated that health status of a population in Inner Mongolia was at a better level.

Clinical Predictors for Reduced Long-Term Survival and Cause of Death after Curative Resection for Rectal Cancer

Purpose: To identify clinical predictors for reduced long-term survival and describe the cause of death after surgical treatment for rectal cancer. Methods: A retrospective follow-up study of 442 consecutive, unselected patients treated for rectal cancer at a tertiary centre from 1990 until 2000 and followed for 17 years or until death. Predictors for death were assessed by Cox regression analysis. The cause of death was obtained from the Norwegian Cause of Death Registry. Results: 254 men and 188 women with a median age of 71 years (21 - 95 years) were resected for rectal cancer with low anterior resection (n = 266), abdominoperineal resection (n = 125), Hartmann’s procedure (n = 19) or diverting stoma only (n = 32). Median follow-up was 5 years (0 - 17 years). The relative five-year survival rates for stages I, II, III and IV was 83.9%, 65.2%, 41.1% and 9.3%, respectively. The proportion of deaths due to recurrence from colorectal cancer in stages I, II, III and IV was 23.5%, 55.8%, 72.3% and 98.0%, respectively. Heart, lung and cerebrovascular disease and other malignancies were the cause of death in the other patients. Higher age, abdominoperineal resection compared to low anterior resection, lack of lymph node dissection compared to total mesorectal excision (TME), postoperative reoperations, TNM stages II and III compared to stage I and residual tumours after surgery were all significant independent predictors of reduced survival in the adjusted Cox regression model. Conclusions: Age, tumour stage, type of surgery, lymph node dissection, residual tumour after surgery and reoperations are predictors for survival after surgery for rectal cancer. In the patients who died, the cause of death was due to a condition other than colorectal cancer recurrence in 32.3% of the patients. The five-year relative survival rate was related to tumour stage.

Trends of Ten Leading Causes of Death in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Objective:An understanding of the leading causes of death in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma(HNSCC)would be helpful to inform doctors,patients,and healthcare providers on disease management.This study aimed to comprehensively study the leading causes of death in these survivors.

Causes of Maternal Mortality in 2020 in the Kara Region (Togo)

Objective: Determine the maternal mortality rate, the epidemiological profile, the causes of death and the dysfunctions noted. Patients and method: This was a cross-sectional and descriptive study from January 1 to December 31, 2020. All maternal deaths during pregnancy or within 42 days after its termination fitting the World Health Organisation definition criteria that occurred in the seven districts of Kara region were included. The data were processed using Excel microsoft. Results: A total of 41 maternal deaths occurred among 23,456 live births, accounting for a maternal mortality ratio of 174.8 deaths per 100,000 live births. The followings were observed: the average age of 30 years;88% married;39% multiparous;78% housewives without income; 5% students. Hemorrhage, preeclampsia, and complications of abortion were the main direct obstetric causes, while anemia was the main indirect obstetric cause. Factors related to deaths were inadequate quality of health care and lack of universal health insurance. The various maternal death audit reports found that 94.4% of deaths were preventable. Conclusion: Most maternal deaths would be prevented in the Kara region if women during pregnancy and the postpartum period received quality health care and the community was involved in decision-making about their health.

An Autopsy and Histopathology-based Study to Ascertain the Cause of Death of Brought Dead Cases

Background and Objectives:The cases of apparent natural deaths are encountered in the hospital casualties who are noted dead at the time of the first medical attention and as such are labeled as“Brought Dead.”These include the cases of sudden death,unexplained death,and unattended death.The cause of such deaths is reported in the literature to emanate principally from the cardiovascular system,though there are some documented geographical,racial,and other variations.In the present study,we endeavored to detect the cause of such natural deaths in terms of the disease and the organ system involved,in the deceased individuals of the contemporary Bengali population,with cases due to obvious unnatural causes being excluded.Materials and Methods:An observational,cross-sectional study with 105(n=105,male:89,female:16)study subjects of age group of 20-80 years,selected by systemic random sampling,from the brought dead subjects coming to the mortuary of the NRS Medical College and Hospital for medicolegal autopsy from April 2011 to March 2012,excluding cases having a history of the obvious unnatural event.Organ system-wise gross examination was done,followed by tissue sampling for histopathological examination.The case-wise findings were tabulated and analyzed for descriptive statistics using SPSS software.Results:In the present study,89 cases were male(84.8%)and 16 cases were female(15.2%),which reflects a male:female ratio of 5.56:1.The dead bodies are mostly recovered from the footpaths(47 cases,44%).Sixty-four(61%)cases are of known identity.In 54 cases out of 105(51.4%),morbid pathology is detected in the respiratory system(RS),lobar pneumonia,and cavitary pulmonary tuberculosis being the most frequent disease entity,in both genders.Fifty-one years-sixty-five years is found to be the most commonly affected age group,in both genders.Interpretation and Conclusions:The present study shows that the most common organ system involved in brought dead cases is the RS,which is supported by a few Indian studies.