World Health Organisation definitions and death certification practice
| *Although the actual wording is similar, its interpretation has been broadened so that in cases where pneumonia from unspecified organisms would have been the underlying cause of death and another major condition is mentioned elsewhere in the certificate, the latter will be selected as the underlying cause of death, whether or not a causal sequence can be presumed.6 It is to be assumed that conditions which are wasting or paralysing, compromised immunity, infectious diseases, other respiratory diseases, and any major injury or operation may be the underlying cause of these types of pneumonia. |
| ICD, International Classification of Diseases. |
| 1. Proximate cause of death |
| The condition/s leading directly to death (position Ia on the death certificate). |
| 2. Underlying cause of death |
| The disease or injury which initiated the train of events directly leading to death (or the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury). |
| 3. Rule 3 (ICD-9 version) |
| “If the underlying cause… can be considered a direct sequel to another reported condition, whether in Part I or Part II, select this primary condition.” |
| 4. Rule 3 (ICD-10 version) |
| “If the condition…. is obviously a direct consequence of another reported condition, whether in Part I or Part II, select this primary condition.”* |