Forensic Autopsies during COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland

COVID-19 has taken the world by storm since late 2019, so we decided to investigate whether this storm also affected forensic autopsies. The study aimed to check whether the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the number of forensic autopsies conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Lodz, Poland. For this, the monthly number of forensic autopsies performed from January 2019 to December 2023 was counted, covering the pre-pandemic (2019), pandemic (2020-2022) and post-pandemic (2023) periods in Poland. The results were compared with the monthly number of SARS-CoV-2 infections and the monthly number of deaths due to COVID-19 in Poland in the same period. The results showed that the mean monthly number of autopsies in the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic periods was similar (22.2±3.6 vs. 23.4±5.5), while the mean number during the pandemic was significantly lower (17.2±5.4). A major reason for this could have been the general slowing down in the pace of life driven by various types of lockdowns, which could have had an impact on reducing crime and, therefore, also on cases where the state prosecutor could have suspected that death had been caused by criminal means. Another reason could have been society's fear of a new, completely unknown disease. This fear may also have influenced the prosecutors and further affected their willingness to order forensic autopsies.