Abstract

HURTADO DE MENDOZA AMAT, José; MONTERO GONZALEZ, Teresita; WALWYN SALAS, Verónica  and  ALVAREZ SANTANA, Reynaldo. The multiple organ injury in autopsies carried out in Cuba in 1994. Rev Cub Med Mil [online]. 1997, vol.26, n.1, pp. 19-29. ISSN 1561-3046.

The experiences obtained from the study of multiple organ injury linked to the investigation of 17 739 autopsies of adults who died in Cuba in 1994 are exposed. The multiple organ injury was found in 10 % of the cases. 47 % came from the intensive and intermediate care units, whereas 17 % were in hospital less than 24 hours. The severe tissue damage and infections were the most frequent causal factors. The most affected organs were: spleen, liver, brain, lung, digestive tube, and kidney. The most common direct causes of death were: the multiple organ injury itself, its manifestations in certain organs, and its causes when they persist. It was confirmed that the multiple organ injury occurs when a causal factor provokes in the organism an immediate response, mainly immunological, which becomes systemic and produces characteristic lesions in different organs. According to its magnitude, it may cause immediate death, cure spontaneous or therapeutically, or manifest itself clinically as a multiple organ failure syndrome.

Keywords : MULTIPLE ORGAN FAILURE; AUTOPSY; CUBA; DATABASES, FACTUAL.