Death from occupational disease.

Pressure groups campaigning on behalf ofvictims of industrial lung disease are understandably keen that when a patient dies of such a condition a necropsy should be performed. In this they are at one with British law, which requires doctors to report to the coroner or, in Scotland, the procurator fiscal, cases in.which an occupational disease contributed to death.' Regrettably, especially in Scotland, this requirement is more honoured in the breach than in the observance. Necropsy is the most time honoured and revealing method of clinical audit, and it is ironic that as audit has become so fashionable, so necropsy has become less and less frequently obtained.2 Yet in cases of occupational disease not only is it easier to obtain consent for this procedure but it also has potential benefits to the deceased patient's relatives as well as in auditing the doctor's clinical skills. The occupational diseases that most frequently result in death are those due to asbestos-asbestosis, with or without lung cancer, and mesothelioma.3 Coal workers' pneumoconiosis, silicosis, and lung cancer related to exposure to other workplace carcinogens, such as bischloromethyl ether and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are still responsible for deaths in Britain. In addition, chronic renal, hepatic, and neurological diseases in patients heavily exposed to solvents are often not attributed to the occupational cause and may lead to premature death.'6 What should the doctor do when dealing with a patient with an occupational disease who has just died? The safest course is to report the death to the coroner or procurator fiscal, who will in most cases decide that a necropsy is necessary. For a general practitioner, this is often the only practicable step to take. If there is serious doubt whether the occupational disease contributed to death it is reasonable simply to obtain a necropsy and let the pathologist decide whether the death should be reported. This most frequently occurs when the patient is known to have been exposed to asbestos, does not have clinical evidence of asbestosis, and has died of lung cancer. A necropsy should always be requested in such patients as the likelihood that the asbestos exposure contributed to the cancer is increased if there is pathological evidence of asbestosis7; this evidence may be of considerable value in any subsequent litigation. More importantly, necropsy evidence allows the doctor to give an impartial and more confident explanation of the cause of death to bereaved relatives, allowing them to come more easily to terms with their loss and to make rational decisions about possible litigation. Finally, it should be remembered that necropsy is not infallible.8 Patchy fibrosis is commonly present in the lungs of smokers, and distinguishing this from early asbestosis may be difficult. In such cases the expensive and time consuming procedure of quantification and identification of asbestos fibres in the lungs may be required.9 The necessary skill and equipment take it outside the reach of clinical pathology departments, and the results may still be equivocal; it is usually performed only for research or at the request and expense oflawyers and their clients. ANTHONY SEATON Professor Department ofEnvironmental and Occupational Medicine, University Medical School, Aberdeen AB9 2ZD