BIBLIOGRAPHIC INPUT SHEET TEMPORARY Patterns of mortality ...

40 Patterns of Mortalityin Childhood
Fa. 21. Percentage of Deaths of Children Under 5 Years of Age With
Autopsies in 25 Areas of 15 Projects.
PEECENT
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ing results, especially when comparisons are
involved.
The Investigation, on the other hand, has
demonstrated not only the urgent need for
improving the teaching and practice of
pediatric pathology in Latin America but
also the feasibility of rapid progress when
concerted efforts are made to improve the
quality of diagnostic data and procedures.
In addition to the several factors affecting
others quality such as which plaee of are birth discussed and death
above, and
ealuion of i tau we cn­
sidered in other chapters. In Chapter III,
data on birth weight (an essential parameter
for evaluating the condition of an infant
at birth) are presented as a basis for understanding
underlying health problems and
the quality of the basic information.
In several projects, such as that in San
Juan Province, autopsies were performed
more frequently on deceased infants than
on deceased children 1-4 years of age (24.9
and 10.2 per cent, respectively). The reverse
was true for Monterrey, Mexico,
where the percentages were 8.7 for those
aged 1-4 years and 3.2 for infants, and
likewise for Sio Pa.tlo, Brazil, and MedellIn,
Colombia.
There is no doubt that the availability of
complete autopsies is a decisive factor in
deteminig
determining quality of data on the presonce,
specificity, and site of certain diseases
and conditions, and hence in measuring
death rates from those causes. Therefore,
the lack of this important diagnostic tool
indicates the need for caution in interpret-
qalit ofdataon he pes-evaluation of nutritional status will be con­