Q1. Cause of death (5 points)
a. What is immediate cause of death?
b. What is Delayed (Underlying or proximate) cause of death?
c. Provide examples of both immediate & delayed cause of death?
Q2. Case study (5 points)
A person hit by a car and suffered fractures in both lower limb bones; then died in the hospital after 2 weeks of pulmonary embolism.
a. What is the cause of death?
b. What is the manner of death?
The case involves a person who suffered a traumatic injury (car hit) and died two weeks later from a complication (pulmonary embolism).
The cause of death is expressed as a sequence of events:
Immediate Cause: Pulmonary Embolism (This is the final event that stopped oxygen exchange).
Delayed/Underlying Cause: Fractures of both lower limb bones (The immobility resulting from the fractures initiated the sequence leading to Deep Vein Thrombosis, which caused the embolism).
The manner of death is the determination of how the cause of death came about. The standard manners of death are Natural, Accidental, Suicidal, Homicidal, and Undetermined.
Manner of Death: Accident (being struck by a car is an unintentional external event).
While the person died in the hospital from a medical complication, the entire event was set in motion by the accidental injury.
The cause of death is the medical reason a person died, typically divided into an immediate cause and a delayed (underlying) cause.
The immediate cause of death is the final disease or injury that directly resulted in the individual's death. It is the last event in the sequence of causes leading to death.
The delayed (underlying or proximate) cause of death is the disease or injury that initiated the sequence of events leading directly to death. It is the initial condition that sets the process in motion. This is the condition the public health system seeks to track and prevent