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 XXXX death autopsies: a distinct subgroup of @entity565 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']
