Follow-up study comparing necropsy rates and discrepancies between clinical and pathologic diagnoses at a veterinary teaching hospital: 2009 versus 1989 and 1999

Objectives: A follow-up, retrospective study to determine whether the proportion of discrepancies between clinical and pathological diagnoses made during 2009, 1999 and 1989 and the proportion of dogs necropsied have changed. Methods: Medical records of 148 hospitalised dogs that died or were euthanased in a veterinary medical teaching hospital during 2009 were reviewed. Clinical and pathological diagnoses were recorded, categorised and compared to historical controls using a data set of 623 dogs from a previous study. Results: The proportion of discrepancies was significantly (P<0·001) lower in 2009 (14·9%), compared to both 1999 (37%) and 1989 (39·8%). There was also a significant (P<0·001) decrease in the number of necropsies performed during 2009 (21·4%) compared to both 1999 (48·4%) and 1989 (58·9%). Clinical Significance: There was a marked improvement in the ante-mortem diagnosis of patients in 2009 compared with both 1989 and 1999 as evidenced by the decrease in the proportion of discrepancies between the clinical and pathological diagnoses. Necropsies should still be regarded as a vital tool for teaching, determining the pathological basis of disease, identification of new and emerging diseases, and for an individual animal determining the cause of death.