Death certificate data: COVID-19 as the underlying cause of death [Article From 16/9/20]

Overall about one in thirteen deaths with COVID-19 on the death certificate did not have the disease as the underlying cause of death; however, this proportion has risen substantially to nearly a third over the last eight weeks.

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World Health Organisation guidelines state that “COVID-19 should be recorded on the medical certificate of cause of death for ALL decedents where the disease, or is assumed to have caused, or contributed to death, i.e. COVID-19 is the underlying cause of death”. Such an example would be someone who has developed pneumonia as a result of COVID-19, dies from acute respiratory distress. Alternatively, COVID-19 may be present on the death certificate as a significant condition contributing to death but not the underlying cause. These guidelines are clear that in such cases these deaths “are not deaths due to COVID-19 and should not be certified as such”:

We set out to determine how many COVID-19 deaths where COVID-19 is the underlying cause and when  COVID-19 is not considered as the underlying cause using Public Health England (PHE) weekly reports on excess mortality (published since the week ending 3 July 2020). 

This allowed us to address the question of whether COVID-19 is the underlying cause of death when it appears on the death certificate.

What did we find

While we found that roughly one in thirteen (7.8%) deaths with COVID-19 on the death certificate did not have the disease as the underlying cause of death, this proportion has risen substantially to 29% (nearly a third) for the last eight weeks of reporting.

Read More – Death certificate data: COVID-19 as the underlying cause of death [Article From 16/9/20]