Resumen

MAMASHELA, Thakadu A.  y  NTULI, Samuel T.. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on forensic pathology services in Limpopo province, South Africa. SAFP [online]. 2025, vol.67, n.1, pp.1-4. ISSN 2078-6204.  https://doi.org/10.4102/safp.v67i1.6038.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the preventative measures taken, especially how they affect forensic pathology services in rural South Africa. METHODS: This retrospective analysis includes referred post-mortem cases from all forensic pathology services in Limpopo province, comparing the period before the COVID-19 pandemic (01 January 2019 to 31 December 2019) with the pandemic period (01 January 2020 to 31 December 2020). Data analysis was performed using STATA 16.0 software (StataCorp; College Station, TX). Chi-square test was employed for comparison, with a p-value < 0.05 deemed statistically significant. RESULTS: Approximately 9319 cases were submitted for post-mortem examinations, with 4857 occurring before the pandemic and 4462 during it, marking an 8.1% decrease. There was a decrease in the number of unnatural death cases, while the instances of natural deaths rose. Cases under investigation saw a notable increase. There was a marked decrease in referrals for forensic examinations across all districts. In addition, except for one facility, there was a decline in the number of cases sent for autopsies at all facilities. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, forensic pathology services in this province had been severely disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak and the lockdown that followed, especially in the tertiary hospital. It has led to new challenges for case management and necessitated changes to operating procedures. CONTRIBUTION: It has required modifications to operational procedures and has introduced various challenges in case management.

Palabras clave : COVID-19; pandemic; forensic; autopsy; Limpopo province; South Africa.

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