Unexpected brain finding in pre-autopsy postmortem CT

Abstract

A case is presented in which pre-autopsy postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) revealed an unexpected brain abscess with a related frontal sinusitis and an erosion of the posterior wall of the frontal sinus. PMCT findings enabled the forensic pathologists to adapt protective measures during autopsy and protect their health from infection. Pre-autopsy PMCT has been also useful in the early differential diagnosis procedure. The complementary use of postmortem imaging and autopsy can improve the quality of forensic death investigations.

Non-invasive methods in autopsy in practice of pathologists and forensic experts: from the appearance to the present day

“…ПКТ, проведенная перед аутопсией, может выявить неожиданные находки в виде абсцесса [21]. Сочетание ПКТ и ПМРТ дает полноценную визуализацию патоморфологических изменений при инфекционных процессах [41].…”

A review on the evolution and characteristics of post-mortem imaging techniques

“…4.7 Infection -The use of post-mortem imaging has proven to be a valuable tool for the examination of suspected infections. Previous studies and case reports suggest that the use of techniques such as PMCT [67][68][69][70][71][72] and MSCT and MRI [73] can provide nearly as much or more information than traditional autopsy, with some examples where post-mortem imaging managed to identify new diagnostic signs of septicaemia not previously exploited [68,72]. Furthermore some of these studies showcase the value of these non-invasive techniques for their ability to (a) protect the examiner from high risk infectious diseases that might not have been previously identified [70,71]; and (b) guide the pathologist in a more targeted examination of areas that may have been overlooked in a standard autopsy protocol [69].…”