OBJECTIVE: @entity204 have been increasing in the United States and worldwide. We studied medical examiner @entity565 death autopsy (MEADA) records for the state of Maryland, compared selected characteristics with state and national total @entity565 deaths (TADs), and comprehensively reviewed relevant literature to define characteristics of @entity565 deaths and to provide insight for the design of future preventive strategies directed at this subgroup. DESIGN: Protocols for autopsy and clinical data. SETTING: The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of the State of Maryland. SUBJECTS: All MEADAs in the state of Maryland from 1988 through 1992. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Descriptive analysis. RESULTS: Maryland MEADAs (63 cases) represented 16.62% of Maryland TADs (379 cases). Most common characteristics of individuals on whom autopsies were performed: inner-city residence; single; black male; 15 to 54 years old; history of @entity565 ; no other significant medical condition; fatal episode more likely to begin at home; pronounced dead at hospital; time of death between midnight and 6 AM; no particular seasonality; and typical gross and/or microscopic pathology. Analysis also revealed that 17.46% of deceased @entity565 @entity1 had a history of @entity734 ; 12.69% had positive toxicology for drugs of abuse; 9.52% were @entity1 and young @entity1 up to 4 years old, all of whom were found, unresponsive, at home; and white females comprised the highest number of TADs but the lowest number of MEADAs. CONCLUSION: Asthma education programs focused on asthmatic inner-city black males, especially those with a history of @entity734 , and on parents of inner-city asthmatic @entity1 and @entity1 may be a useful preventive strategy. International, national, and regional MEADA databases may also be of use in the design and monitoring of preventive strategies directed at this subgroup.

Medical examiner @entity565 death autopsies: a distinct subgroup of XXXX deaths with implications for public health preventive strategies.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['children', 'patients', 'infants'] @entity565 :: ('MESH:D001249', 'Disease') :: ['asthma'] @entity204 :: ('MESH:D003643', 'Disease') :: ['Asthma deaths'] @entity734 :: ('MESH:D019966', 'Disease') :: ['drug abuse']
@entity565 :: (MESH:D001249,Disease) :: ['asthma']
