Cause of death in an emergency department 
 A retrospective review was done of 601 consecutive emergency department deaths.
 Nontrauma causes accounted for 77% of the deaths and this group had an average age of 64 years and a male to female ratio of 1.9:1.
 Trauma caused 23% of the fatalities and this group had a younger average age of 29 years and a male to female ratio of 4.6:1.
 The most common causes of nontrauma death were sudden death of uncertain cause (34%), coronary artery disease (34%), cancer (5%), other heart disease (4%), chronic obstructive lung disease (3%), drug overdose (3%), and sudden infant death syndrome (2%).
 The most common causes of trauma death were motor vehicle accidents (61%) and gunshot wounds (16%).
 The overall autopsy rate was 40%.
 Death certificates were often in error.
