Utility of autopsy among pediatric allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients: one last chance to learn?

Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study of children undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) at Duke University who died of any cause in 1995 and 2016. They found no associations between autopsy performance and patient age, sex, HSCT indication, or HSCT donor. Additionally, the proportion of autopsies with an unexpected diagnosis did not change during the study period. The researchers conclude that the utility of autopsy in this patient population remains high despite a reduction in the identification of unexpected infections.