Coronary-targeted postmortem CT angiography and postmortem MRI serve as valuable alternative or complementary approaches to standard autopsy for diagnosing cardiac causes of death.
Do postmortem CT angiography and magnetic resonance imaging accurately diagnose cardiac causes of death compared to standard autopsy?
Postmortem CT angiography and magnetic resonance imaging serve as valuable complementary or alternative approaches to standard autopsy for diagnosing cardiac causes of death.
The need of a minimally invasive approach, especially in cases of cultural or religious oppositions to the internal examination of the body, has led over the years to the introduction of postmortem CT (PMCT) methodologies within forensic investigations for the comprehension of the cause of death in selected cases (e.g., traumatic deaths, acute hemorrhages, etc.), as well as for personal identification. The impossibility to yield clear information concerning the coronary arteries due to the lack of an active circulation to adequately distribute contrast agents has been subsequently overcome by the introduction of coronary-targeted PMCT Angiography (PMCTA), which has revealed useful in the detection of stenoses related to calcifications and/or atherosclerotic plaques, as well as in the suspicion of thrombosis. In parallel, due to the best ability to study the soft tissues, cardiac postmortem MR (PMMR) methodologies have been further implemented, which proved suitable for the detection and aging of infarcted areas, and for cardiomyopathies. Hence, the purpose of the present work to shed light on the state of the art concerning the value of both coronary-targeted PMCTA and PMMR in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease and/or myocardial infarction as causes of death, further evaluating their suitability as alternatives or complementary approaches to standard autopsy and histologic investigations.
Stassi et al. (Fri,) conducted a review in Cardiac causes of death. Postmortem CT Angiography (PMCTA) and Postmortem MRI (PMMR) vs. Standard autopsy and histologic investigations was evaluated. Coronary-targeted postmortem CT angiography and postmortem MRI serve as valuable alternative or complementary approaches to standard autopsy for diagnosing cardiac causes of death.
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