To the Editor: Obesity in adults presents significant issues for health care providers, including practical problems in transporting and accommodating large individuals, and in performing standard tests and investigations.1 However, this issue has been little addressed in the mortuary setting, although a recent media report detailed the need for larger crematorium furnaces to accommodate oversized coffins, as well as larger graves for burials.2
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- 1 Discipline of Pathology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA.
- 2 Forensic Science SA, Adelaide, SA.
- 1. Uppot RN, Sahani DV, Hahn PF, et al. Impact of obesity on medical imaging and image-guided intervention. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2007; 188: 433-440.
- 2. Hall L. Super-sized cremators in demand as nation’s girth all at sea. Sun Herald (Sydney) 2007; 29 Apr.
- 3. Hensrud DD, Klein S. Extreme obesity: a new medical crisis in the United States. Mayo Clin Proc 2006; 81 (10 Suppl): S5-S10.
- 4. WorkCover Corporation of South Australia. South Australian Government. Approved Code of Practice for Manual Handling. September 1990. http://www.safework.sa.gov.au/contentPages/docs/resCOPManualHandling.pdf (accessed Jun 2007).