Within the scope of an investigation into infant mortality determinants in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro during one-year period, the original death certificates of a sample of children were studied and compared with information provided on them by hospital case-histories and records. This was done with a view to assessing the quality of the filling in of certificates for the purpose of calling the attention of health officers to their use as documents furnishing data for the preparation and evaluation of health programmes and note simply as a legal requirement for burying. Only 52.3% of the basic causes given on the certificates were maintened after the examination of the case histories. Necropsy was carried out on only 42.8% of those neonatal deaths and 21.5% of post-neonatal deaths which took place outside the hospital. Other items that were evaluated included mother's age and education, time interval and complementary examination, birth weight and necropsy, all of which presented a degree of accuracy in their filling - in far bellow that required, thus evidencing the limitations of the official death statistics based on this information.
Death certificates; Medical records; Cause of death
