CHICAGO, Nov. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Radiologists are investigating the use
of computed tomography (CT) as a tool for civilian medical examiners'
autopsies in the United States. According to findings presented today at
the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), CT
autopsy has the potential to replace conventional autopsy in determining
the cause of certain accidental deaths.
"CT is a sensitive imaging tool for detecting injuries and cause of
death in victims of blunt trauma," said Barry Daly, M.D., professor of
radiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.
"When there are major injuries, such as those resulting from a motor
vehicle accident, CT may provide enough information to enable a
conventional autopsy to be avoided altogether."
All states are required by law to perform an autopsy in cases of sudden
and unexplained deaths. Of the 8,000 such deaths referred to the chief
medical examiner of the state of Maryland last year, approximately one-half
required full autopsy.
CT autopsy compares favorably to conventional autopsy in several ways.
In cases of suspicious death, the noninvasive procedure does not damage or
destroy key forensic evidence, as can happen during a conventional autopsy.
In addition, CT can be used in situations where autopsy may be prohibited
by religious or cultural beliefs. CT autopsy is considerably less expensive
than conventional autopsy and can be performed in a fraction of the time. A
forensic medical examiner requires several hours to conduct a full autopsy,
while multi-detector CT scanning and interpretation can be completed in
about 30 minutes.
In Dr. Daly's study, 20 autopsies were performed using whole-body
multi- detector CT at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Interpretations of the CT scans by two radiologists were compared with the
results of a conventional autopsy performed on each body by state forensic
medical examiners. Included were 14 victims of blunt trauma and six victims
of a penetrating wound made either by a knife or ballistic weapon.
In all 14 blunt trauma cases and five of the six penetrating wounds, CT
accurately identified the cause of death. The radiologists and forensic
medical examiners evaluated the CT findings as comparable to conventional
autopsy in 13 of the 14 blunt trauma cases and as a helpful adjunct in five
of the six penetrating wound cases. In the study, CT was able to localize
rapidly all 26 major ballistic fragments recovered from the victims during
conventional autopsy.
"Autopsy is mandatory in deaths involving gunshot wounds, but CT can
serve as a powerful adjunct to the conventional exam," Dr. Daly said.
"Performing CT imaging first may speed up a conventional autopsy,
especially when it comes to locating ballistic fragments, which are so
important to criminal investigations."
In addition, CT was more sensitive than conventional autopsy in
identifying air embolism, an often undetected important contributing factor
in fatal trauma.
While CT has previously been used in autopsies of American soldiers and
in a few countries outside the U.S., the technology is only now generating
strong interest within the nation's forensic community.
"Although these preliminary results are promising, more research is
needed to show that CT could be widely used within the U.S. medical
examiners system," Dr. Daly said.
Co-authors are C.W. Sliker, M.D., D. Zulauf, R.N., J.L. Titus, M.D.,
P.A. Shah, M.D., M. Ripple, M.D., Z. Ali, M.D., and D. Fowler, M.D.
AT A GLANCE
-- A new study examines the use of CT in civilian medical examiner
autopsies in the U.S.
-- CT is a sensitive imaging tool for detecting injuries and the cause of
death in victims of blunt trauma.
-- CT autopsy is noninvasive and saves time and money compared to
conventional autopsy.
Note: Copies of RSNA 2007 news releases and electronic images will be
available online at RSNA.org/press07 beginning Monday, Nov. 26.
RSNA is an association of more than 41,000 radiologists, radiation
oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists committed to
excellence in patient care through education and research. The Society is
based in Oak Brook, Ill. (RSNA.org)
Editor's note: The data in these releases may differ from those in the
printed abstract and those actually presented at the meeting, as
researchers continue to update their data right up until the meeting. To
ensure you are using the most up-to-date information, please call the RSNA
Newsroom at (312) 949-3233.
SOURCE Radiological Society of North America
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