Commitment in the completion of the medical death certification. Evaluation in Belém, Pará, Brazil in 2010

Objective

To evaluate the completion of medical death certifications in Belém, state of Pará, Brazil in 2010.

Methods

In the present study, 800 medical certifications of non-violent death, randomly chosen, and produced in 2010 were analyzed. Regarding correct completion, all fields of the document were evaluated, except for fields I (reserved for civil registries), V (stillbirth or death under age of 1 year), and VIII (external causes/violent death). Each field was analyzed regarding the following parameters: incomplete fields, fields left blank, illegibility, and incorrect completions.

Results

Based on the data collected, very high rates of errors in completion were observed; 98.7% of the certifications had at least one mistake. The most remarkable and important mistakes were found in field VI, intended for the cause of death, with a frequency of error of 71.5%, especially due to vagueness.

Conclusion

The very high rates of poorly completed medical death certifications highlights a significant failure in the medical schools’ curriculum, as well as a lack of continuing medical education programs addressing such topic of paramount importance. The results demonstrated neglect or lack of knowledge on the pathophysiology of diseases by physicians.