Rapid Autopsies: Reformulating the Classic Autopy Toward a Focus on Cancer Research

The non-forensic autopsy is on life support in most hospitals with only about 10% of patients undergoing the procedure nationally (see:The Vanishing Nonforensic Autopsy). However, the rapid autopsy has moved front-and-center for selected cancer patients with the need for rapid tumor tissue harvesting. This specialized type of autopsy was described in a recent article (see: Rapid autopsies could speed cancer research. They ’re also fraught for families),. Below is an excerpt from it:Medical teams have long rushed to save the living. Now, increasingly, they ’re rushing to attend to the dead.A small but fast-growing number of hospitals are embracing procedures known as “rapid autopsies,” — conducted in the hours immediately after a patient’s death. The idea is to obtain tissues from tumors before they start significantly degrading. Using genetic analysis technology, doctors can then determine precisely how cancer cells survived every attempt to kill them. But the procedures are forcing doctors and patients to overcome their reluctance to discuss death, and family members to confront the idea of parting with loved ones ’ bodies shortly after their death — within six hours, optimally....So far, roughly 10 hospitals conduct the procedures....The logistics can be complicated. Doctors discuss the procedure with patients, but in most states, it ’s the surviving family members who must consent to the procedure.Patients and family members can limit the scop...
Source: Lab Soft News - Category: Laboratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Genomic Testing Healthcare Delivery Healthcare Innovations Medical Consumerism Medical Education Medical Research Source Type: blogs