Postmortem autolysis in the pancreas: multivariate statistical study. The influence of clinicopathological conditions.

The pancreases of 92 autopsied patients were evaluated to determine the influence of clinicopathological conditions upon the extent of postmortem autolysis. The postmortem interval was the most important factor influencing postmortem autolysis. In order to more precisely evaluate the influence of associated factors upon the extent of postmortem autolysis in the pancreas, quantification I of multivariate statistical analysis was used. Twelve factors such as postmortem interval, mode of death, malignant neoplasia as an underlying cause of death, and history of abdominal surgery were chosen for analysis. The multiple correlation coefficient (R2) was 0.71. In the case of unexpectedly severe or unexpectedly mild postmortem autolysis, we suggest that these 12 factors should be taken into close consideration whether or not the postmortem interval is long or short.