Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38620603›Full record

ArticleForensic Science International. Reports2020

The contribution of autopsy in COVID-19 pandemic: Missed opportunity in Sub-Saharan Africa.

William F Mawalla

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Forensic Science International. Reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on forensic pathology services in Limpopo province, South Africa.South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care · 2025
    Article
  2. Post-mortem examination of Hospital Inpatient COVID-19 Deaths in Lusaka, Zambia - A Descriptive Whole-body Autopsy Series.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2021
    Article
  3. The role of forensic pathology in the COVID-19 pandemic in Zambia.Forensic Science International. Reports · 2020
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author.

William F MawallaDepartment of Pathology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

'Autopsy studies are for the living and not the dead!' This statement underlines the central role of autopsy studies in refining and informing the medical and forensic science body of knowledge. Significant outbreaks, like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, have continued to reveal the capacity gap in autopsy practice, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Despite the importance of autopsy in investigating previous infectious disease outbreaks, health systems in SSA still assign a lesser priority to autopsy and forensic practice. Some of the critical factors hindering routine clinical autopsy are the lack of experts and facilities, and a health system that focuses less on postmortem examination. Societal traditions and cultural beliefs against the practice of autopsy and manipulation of the dead body are also significant barriers. Nevertheless, strengthening the role of autopsy in clinical practice may help clinicians to more quickly address clinical questions associated with highly infectious outbreaks.

Indexed as

AutopsyCOVID-19ForensicPandemicSub-Saharan Africa

Identifiers

PMID38620603
PMCPMC7462550

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.