{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,4]],"date-time":"2026-11-04T00:38:17Z","timestamp":1793752697905,"version":"4.6.1"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]],"date-time":"2026-07-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784764800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A global decline in the number of clinical post-mortems sought and conducted indicates a diminishing necessity for post-mortem exams. Notwithstanding advancements in medical technology, autopsies continue to serve as a pertinent method for ascertaining the cause of death.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study aimed to identify prevalent major misdiagnoses in clinical settings through autopsy and to investigate potential contributing factors.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted, including 51 autopsies retrieved from the NHLS Laboratory Information System (LIS) and classified as either Class I or Class II discrepancies according to the Goldman criteria. Stata-18 was used to analyse descriptive data and examine the associations between clinicopathological factors and the major discrepancy classes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Of the 51 autopsies included in the study, 68.63% (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 35) were female in contrast to 31.37% (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 16) of males, with a mean death age of 39.3 years. A total of 88.24% (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 45) of the cases were classified as Class I discrepancies, and 11.76% (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 6) were Class II. There was no evidence of an association between discrepancies and age, sex and disease type. However, autopsy diagnosis showed a statistically significant association with Class I discrepancies (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2264 0.05) accounted for the largest proportion of misdiagnoses, with pulmonary disease being the most frequently misdiagnosed condition at 44.44% (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 20).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Autopsies remain a pertinent clinical audit tool despite advances in medical technology. The hospital should provide funds for autopsies and encourage doctors to utilize them as a clinical audit instrument to enhance patient management.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1884301","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]],"date-time":"2026-07-23T11:10:20Z","timestamp":1784805020000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Major discrepancy between clinical and autopsy diagnosis: a descriptive single-center analysis and its implications for the South African public health system"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Moshawa C","family":"Khaba","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anatomical Pathology, Dr George Mukhari Tertiary Laboratory, National Health Laboratory Service, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University","place":["Pretoria, South 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