Diagnosable and non-diagnosable causes of death by postmortem computed tomography: A review of 339 forensic cases

Kasahara, Shiori; Makino, Yohsuke; Hayakawa, Motozo; Yajima, Daisuke; Ito, Hisao; Iwase, Hirotaro

doi:10.1016/j.legalmed.2012.03.007

Cited by 67 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Relatively low maintenance costs, short examination times, and ease of operation make CT a widely used cross-sectional imaging technique in modern postmortem imaging (3). Compared with conventional autopsy, postmortem CT has several advantages, which can lead to important improvements in both research and postmortem investigation (4)(5)(6)(7)(8). The main reported weakness of postmortem CT, however, is relatively low soft-tissue contrast, especially in organ parenchyma, and poor ability to view the vascular system (8).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Postmortem CT Angiography Compared with Autopsy: A Forensic Multicenter Study

Grabherr¹,

Heinemann²,

Vogel³

et al. 2018

Radiology

116

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Purpose: To determine if postmortem computed tomography (CT) and postmortem CT angiography help to detect more lesions than autopsy in postmortem examinations, to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each method, and to define their indications. Materials and Methods:Postmortem CT angiography was performed on 500 human corpses and followed by conventional autopsy. Nine centers were involved. All CT images were read by an experienced team including one forensic pathologist and one radiologist, blinded to the autopsy results. All findings were recorded for each method and categorized by anatomic structure (bone, organ parenchyma, soft tissue, and vascular) and relative importance in the forensic case (essential, useful, and unimportant).

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Postmortem CT Angiography Compared with Autopsy: A Forensic Multicenter Study

Grabherr¹,

Heinemann²,

Vogel³

et al. 2018

Radiology

116

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“…The first post-mortem CT (PMCT) was reported in 1983. 1 Since then, the numbers of PMCT examinations have increased significantly through the past years [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] to the point where it has now become a routine investigation in several medicolegal centres all over the world. This may be because of the fact that the handling of a CTscan is relatively easy, data acquisition is rapid and maintenance costs are affordable for some institutes of legal medicine.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances in post-mortem CT-angiography

Grabherr¹,

Grimm²,

Domínguez³

et al. 2014

BJR

119

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Performing a post-mortem multidetector CT (MDCT) scan has already become routine in some institutes of forensic medicine. To better visualize the vascular system, different techniques of post-mortem CT-angiography have been explored, which can essentially be divided into partial-and whole-body angiography techniques. Probably the most frequently applied technique today is the so-called multiphase post-mortem CT-angiography (MPMCTA) a standardized method for investigating the vessels of the head, thorax and abdomen. Different studies exist, describing its use for medicolegal investigations, and its advantages as well as its artefacts and pitfalls. With the aim to investigate the performance of PMCTA and to develop and validate techniques, an international working group was created in 2012 called the "Technical Working Group Post-mortem Angiography Methods" (TWGPAM). Beyond its primary perspective, the goals of this group include creating recommendations for the indication of the investigation and for the interpretation of the images and to distribute knowledge about PMCTA. This article provides an overview about the different approaches that have been developed and tested in recent years and an update about ongoing research in this field. It will explain the technique of MPMCTA in detail and give an outline of its indications, application, advantages and limitations.

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“…For example, it is difficult to compare the results of excellent studies of hospital ITU deaths [7] compared with those from the community [15]. Likewise large studies and systematic reviews may have a very heterogeneous population, including both natural and unnatural deaths [4,16]. These statistical considerations are discussed in the next section.…”

Section: Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The purpose of this paper is to review what post--mortem imaging can do now and to try and frame the questions that need to be asked, both of previous studies and in new study design. However, after a review of the literature, the reader can come away with the impression that post--mortem (PM) imaging for the investigation of natural death is either very poor, giving a cause of death in less than 10% cases [4,5], or extremely good giving a cause of death in 90% [6]. Similar discrepancies are also seen in unnatural death.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does post-mortem imaging compare to autopsy, is this a relevant question?

Morgan

Rutty

2016

Journal of Forensic Radiology and Imaging

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HighlightsEvidence of "efficacy" for a test does not imply it is effective in the real world Direct comparisons between autopsy and imaging may give misleading results Imaging is used in a wide variety of contexts, all with different questions The level of accuracy required of an imaging test depends on the context Research findings in one context may not be applicable in all contexts AbstractThe rapid development of imaging techniques used for the investigation of death invites the question "how does imaging compare with autopsy". This article is based on an invited talk given to the International Society of Forensic Radiology and Imaging in 2015 and attempts to show that this question cannot be answered, as it is in fact several questions depending on the circumstances of death. Review of the literature is fraught with difficulties due to the rapid evolution of technology, the varied circumstances of death investigation and the multiple possible post--mortem investigations that imaging can be compared with. The article focuses on the assessment of adult sudden natural death and suggests the questions that need to be answered.

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Diagnosable and non-diagnosable causes of death by postmortem computed tomography: A review of 339 forensic cases

Cited by 67 publications

References 30 publications

Postmortem CT Angiography Compared with Autopsy: A Forensic Multicenter Study

Postmortem CT Angiography Compared with Autopsy: A Forensic Multicenter Study

Advances in post-mortem CT-angiography

How does post-mortem imaging compare to autopsy, is this a relevant question?

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