Mors Gaudet Succurrere Vitae. The Role of Clinical Autopsy in Preventing Litigation Related to the Management of Liver and Digestive Disorders

Over the last 50 years, the numbers of clinical autopsies has decreased, but their role in assessing cause of death and clinical performance is still acknowledged. Few publications have studied its role in malpractice claim prevention. The paper aims to highlight the role of clinical au-topsy in preventing errors and improve healthcare quality. A retrospective study was conducted on 28 clinical autopsies performed between 2015 and 2021 on patients dead unexpectedly after procedures for the diagnosis and treatment of digestive and hepatic diseases. After an accurate analysis of medical records and consultation with healthcare professionals, all cases were subject-ed to autopsy and histopathology. The data obtained was analyzed and shared with the risk man-agement team to identify pitfalls and preventive strategies. Post-mortem evaluations confirmed the clinical diagnosis only in 6 cases (21.4%). Discordances were observed in 10 cases (35.7%). In the remaining 12 cases (42.9%) the clinical diagnosis was labeled as "unknown" and post-mortem examinations made it possible to document the cause of death. Post-mortem examinations can concretely enrich hospital prevention systems and improve the patient safety. The methodological approach outlined certainly demonstrates that, even in the risk management field, “mors gaudet succurrere vitae”