The attending physician and the certificate of natural death in children
Plötz, F.B.; Smit, L.M.E.
Nederlands Tijdschrift Voor Geneeskunde 148(32): 1569-1572
2004
ISSN/ISBN: 0028-2162 PMID: 15382554 Document Number: 567447
Three children died in the paediatric intensive-care unit or emergency department. The case of a 3.5-year-old girl who died after a pneumococcal infection was considered a natural death. An 8-year-old boy suddenly collapsed and died despite resuscitation. The attending physician considered this an unnatural death. The district medical examiner, after consulting the district attorney, required an autopsy, but the cause of death could not be ascertained and the next of kin were to be examined for cardiac rhythm disorders. A 2-year-old boy died after a fall out of a window. The district medical examiner and the district attorney concluded that there was sufficient explanation for this unnatural death and that autopsy was not necessary. The attending physician has several important tasks around the time of and after death in which he or she is subject to a number of legal regulations. Knowledge of these regulations is mandatory for good medical practice.