Virtual Autopsy as a Screening Test Before Traditional Autopsy: The Verona Experience on 25 Cases

Journal of Pathology Informatics
Vito CirielliFranco Tagliaro

Abstract

Interest has grown into the use of multidetector computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging as an adjunct or alternative to the invasive autopsy. We sought to investigate these possibilities in postmortem CT scan using an innovative virtual autopsy approach. Twenty-five postmortem cases were scanned with the Philips Brilliance CT-64 and then underwent traditional autopsy. The images were interpreted by two blinded forensic pathologists assisted by a radiologist with the INFOPSY® Digital Autopsy Software System which provides three-dimensional images in Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine format. Diagnostic validity of virtual autopsy (accuracy rate, sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values) and concordance between the two forensic pathologists (kappa intraobserver coefficients) were determined. The causes of death at traditional autopsies were hemorrhage due to traumatic injuries (n = 8), respiratory failure (5), asphyxia due to drowning (4), asphyxia due to hanging or strangulation (2), heart failure (2), nontraumatic hemorrhage (1), and severe burns (1). In two cases, the cause of death could not be ascertained. In 15/23 (65%) cases, the cause of death diagnosed after virtual autopsy matched the...Continue Reading

References

Jun 24, 2015·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Stephan A Bolliger, Michael J Thali

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Citations

Feb 18, 2021·Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine·Paola A MagniEdda E Guareschi
Jul 28, 2021·International Journal of Legal Medicine·Xin JinGuangtao Xu
Sep 4, 2021·International Journal of Legal Medicine·Cristina MondelloElvira Ventura Spagnolo

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
dissection
X-ray
biopsies

Software Mentioned

INFOPSY
iGene
SPSS

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