Abstract
Objective: To find the magnitude and contributory factors of Negative autopsy cases at Sheikh Zayed Medical College, Rahim Yar Khan.
Methodology: This descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine, Sheikh Zayed Medical College, Rahim Yar Khan from January 1, 2015 to December, 31, 2017 and included 138 autopsies. The cases of exhumations, custodial deaths, police encounters, intra operative deaths and those referred from other centers were excluded. Gender, non yielding physical examination, concealed trauma, negative reports of chemical analysis and non yielding histopathological examination were the variables of the study. Negative autopsy rate was the outcome variable.
Results: In year 2015, total of 46 cases were autopsied; 40(86.9%) were male and 6(13%) females while 6(13%) autopsies were incomplete & not conducted perfectly. Of the remaining 40 autopsies, 8(20%) were found negative. In next calendar year 2016, total 40 autopsies were performed including 29(72.5%) males & 11(27.5%) females. Incomplete autopsy procedures were observed in 3(7.5%) cases while 8(21.62%) cases revealed no cause of death hence negative autopsies. In 2017, total 52 cases were autopsied involving 41(78.8%) males and 11(21.1%) females while 17(32.6%) cases were found incomplete and performed without fulfilling the standard procedures and out of the remaining 35(67.3%) autopsies, exact cause of death could not determined in 5(14.2%) cases.
Conclusion: The rate of negative autopsies is higher at our institution compared to other studies. It can be attributed to multiple reasons. It is need of the day to plan well focused and targeted action in order to minimize the rate of negative autopsies resulting from incomplete/defective examinations; so that there is no room for injustice based upon the faulty medicolegal opinions.

Key words: Negative autopsy, Obscure autopsy, Unascertainable autopsy.