[How to certify death and the cause of death].

In this article 10 important questions for physicians and other health care providers who are confronted with death during practice of their profession are answered. In the vast majority of cases, the attending physician can perform postmortem examination of those deceased. This article describes how an postmortem examination should be carried out correctly, what to do in unclear circumstances surrounding death and when an unnatural death should be considered.

[Street doctors warn of epidemic of uninsured homeless persons in the Netherlands].

Over the past few years, the Netherlands Street Doctors Group, a national network of doctors and nurses providing outreach primary care to homeless people in the Netherlands, has observed a growing number of homeless patients who do not have health insurance resulting in their access to healthcare services and medication being limited. In this article we raise the alarm about the epidemic of uninsured Dutch homeless. We explain and comment on the reasons why people are no longer insured and elaborate on the regulations and obligations related to homelessness and the characteristics of consumers and providers of social and medical services.

Mortality and psychiatric disorders among public mental health care clients in Utrecht: a register-based cohort study.

Background: Different studies have shown similar or even lower mortality among homeless persons with compared to homeless persons without a severe mental disorder.

Aims: To clarify the association between presence of a psychiatric diagnosis and mortality among the socially marginalized.

Methods: The Public Mental health care (PMHc) is a legal task of the municipal authority aiming at prevention and intervention in case of (imminent) homelessness among persons with a serious shortage of self-sufficiency.

Erratum to Predictors of Death in Trauma Patients who are Alive on Arrival at Hospital.

Objective: To determine which factors predict death occurring in trauma patients who are alive on arrival at hospital Design Prospective cohort study Method Data were collected from 507 trauma patients with multiple injuries, with a Hospital Trauma Index-Injury Severity Score of 16 or more, who were initially delivered by the Emergency Medical Services to the Emergency Department of the University Medical Centre Utrecht (UMCU) during the period 1999-2000.

Results: Univariate analysis showed that every year of age increase resulted in a 2% greater risk of death. If the patient had been intubated at the scene of the accident, this risk was increased 4.

Predictors of Death in Trauma Patients who are Alive on Arrival at Hospital.

Objective: To determine which factors predict death occurring in trauma patients who are alive on arrival at hospital Design Prospective cohort study Method Data were collected from 507 trauma patients with multiple injuries, with a Hospital Trauma Index-Injury Severity Score of 16 or more, who were initially delivered by the Emergency Medical Services to the Emergency Department of the University Medical Centre Utrecht (UMCU) during the period 1999-2000.

Results: Univariate analysis showed that every year of age increase resulted in a 2% greater risk of death. If the patient had been intubated at the scene of the accident, this risk was increased 4.

["Natural cause of death or not?" How do nursing home physicians act when in doubt of natural cause of death?].

The objective of the study was to explore if nursing home physicians act by law, when they doubt the natural cause of death. In May 1999, a questionnaire was sent to 153 nursing home physicians in the region of Utrecht and Nijmegen. They were asked if they consult the coroner when they have doubts about the natural cause of death.