DEFINITIONS
Death certificates do not
ask for the “primary condition”, “principal diagnosis”, “terminal diagnosis” or
“co-morbidity”. INSTEAD, death
certificate instructions use the terms “cause(s) of death”, “immediate cause of
death”, “intermediate cause(s) of death”, “underlying cause of death”, and
“contributing cause(s) of death.”
Cause(s) of Death
“Cause of death” is a
morbid condition or disease process, abnormality, injury or poisoning leading
directly or indirectly to death. Since
conditions that did not cause death should not be reported in the cause of
death section of the certificate, any medical condition you report in Items I
(lines a/b/c/d) or II (contributing causes) is a cause of death.
Immediate Cause of Death
This is the disease or
condition entered on Part I, line (a).
This is the final disease or condition that resulted directly in
death. Chronologically, it is the last
medical condition to occur.
Intermediate Cause(s) of
Death
These are conditions that
link the immediate cause of death to the underlying cause. Report any intermediate causes on lines
between the immediate and the underlying cause.
Underlying Cause of Death
This is the disease or
injury which “initiated the train of morbid events leading directly to death or
the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury.”
In other words, the underlying cause of death is the disease or injury that
started the sequence of medical events that led to the immediate cause of
death. The underlying cause is reported
on the lowest used line in Part I.
Contributing Cause(s) of
Death
These are reported in Item
23, Part II, “Other significant conditions contributing to death but not
resulting in the underlying cause given in Part I”. “Contributing causes” are diseases, injuries,
or other conditions that contributed to the fatal outcome, but did not cause
the condition (underlying cause) reported on the lowest used line in Part
I.