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- Title
The use of CT in forensic post-mortem examination to facilitate targeted dissection methods.
- Authors
Chadwick, Erika; Poon, Art; Pickup, Michael
- Abstract
Introduction: Computed Tomography (CT) is a noninvasive diagnostic imaging technique that is frequently being used in forensic post-mortem examination to aid pathologists in determination of cause of death. CT is a tool that can be used to supplement autopsy by creating detailed cross-sectional images of the body through associated x-ray measurements. CT imaging can be a useful method in identification of individuals, preservation of evidence and identifying hazards present in a postmortem exam. This retrospective study will investigate a randomly selected population of cases from 2015 and 2017 to evaluate the usefulness of CT to motivate the pathologist to perform a targeted dissection or an external exam. Methods: We randomly selected 100 cases; 50 cases from both 2017 and 50 cases from 2015; to analyze. The statistics from each case were compared to evaluate if CT a reliable non-invasive technique to encourage more targeted dissections, and in what situation is CT the most effective. Results: Between both sets of data, it was proven that the most common death causes were drug toxicity, cardiovascular disease and severe trauma. The time difference between full autopsies and targeted autopsies was significant (P <0.001). It was shown that CT is most useful for traumatic deaths and cardiovascular disease, whereas forensic chemistry was most useful in determining the cause of death for drug toxicity. Conclusions: Although full post-mortem examinations are the most reliable method, it can be shown that CT is a supplementary tool that can be beneficial for decreasing workload and exposure.
- Subjects
COMPUTED tomography; AUTOPSY; X-ray measurement; DRUG toxicity; FORENSIC chemistry
- Publication
Canadian Journal of Pathology, 2018, Vol 10, p48
- ISSN
1918-915X
- Publication type
Article