The significance of the postmortem discovery of gastric contents in the air passages

Abstract

The significance of the finding of gastric contents in the air passages at postmortem examination is discussed and references quoted to indicate that without clinical corroboration of aspiration of gastric contents, the purely autopsy diagnosis of such aspiration is to be regarded with reservation. In a series of routine medicolegal autopsies, gastric contents were shown to be present in a quarter of all cases, irrespective of the cause of death. This figure also appeared to hold for autopsies upon infants and the special dangers of ascribing infant victims of the "sudden death in infancy syndrome" to the aspiration of vomit is pointed out.