 |
NATURAL
DEATHS
Nearly
fifty percent (47.6) of Medical Examiner cases investigated in 1993
proved to be natural in manner. The majority were either unattended
by a physician or sudden, unexpected deaths in persons believed
to be previously healthy.
Table
6 illustrates by cause the number of natural deaths investigated
by the Medical Examiner System, compared to all natural deaths reported
to North Carolina's Vital Records System. The State's Medical Examiners
investigate a large percentage of deaths involving alcohol and "ill-defined
conditions," and all cases of sudden infant death syndrome.
Table
6: 1993 North Carolina Deaths Natural Deaths by International
Classification of Diseases
| Class |
M.E.
Cases |
All
Deaths* |
Percent
M.E. |
| All
Natural Causes |
4,097 |
58,255 |
7.0 |
| Infectious
and Parasitic Diseases (001-139) |
76 |
1,771 |
4.3 |
| Neoplasms
(140-239) |
107 |
14,684 |
0.7 |
| Endocrine,
Nutritional and Metabolic Disease/Immunity Disorders (240-279) |
86 |
2,169 |
4.0 |
| Diabetes
Mellitus (250) |
57 |
1,588 |
3.6 |
| Mental
Disorders (290-319) |
173 |
1,222 |
14.2 |
| Alcohol
Psychoses (291) |
2 |
21 |
9.5 |
| Alcohol
Dependence Syndrome (303) |
162 |
230 |
70.4 |
| Diseases
of the Nervous System and Sense Organs (320-389) |
29 |
1,221 |
2.4 |
| Diseases
of the Circulatory System (390-459) |
2,992 |
25,900 |
11.6 |
| Coronary
Artherosclerosis (414.0) |
378 |
2,230 |
17.0 |
| Diseases
of the Respiratory System (460-519) |
166 |
5,947 |
2.8 |
| Pneumonia
and Influenza (480-487) |
71 |
2,301 |
3.1 |
| Chronic
Obstructive Pulmonary Disease / Allied Conditions (490-496) |
74 |
2,848 |
2.6 |
| Disease
of the Digestive System (520-579) |
102 |
2,065 |
4.9 |
| Chronic
Liver Disease and Cirrhosis (571) |
37 |
645 |
5.7 |
| Congenital
Anomalies (740-759) |
31 |
318 |
9.7 |
| Certain
Conditions Originating in the Perinatal Period (760-779) |
17 |
562 |
3.0 |
| Symptoms,
Signs and Ill-Defined Conditions (780-799) |
275 |
575 |
47.8 |
| Sudden
Infant Death Syndrome (798.0) |
139 |
123 |
113.0 |
|
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