Iwase Hirotaro, Yajima Daisuke, Hayakawa Mutsumi, Yamamoto Seiji, Motani Hisako, Sakuma Ayaka, Kasahara Shiori, Ito Hisao
Department of Legal Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chuo-ku, Chiba, Japan.
J Forensic Sci. 2010 Nov;55(6):1509-15. doi: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2010.01465.x.
The Japanese method of inquest, which depends mostly on external examinations, may misdiagnose a considerable number of accidental deaths and suicides as death by disease. We conducted computed tomography (CT) scans of 80 cases for which police concluded death by disease or natural causes based on police investigations into the circumstances and results from external examinations. The cause of death was clearly determined by CT scan in 17 of 80 cases. Ten cases underwent autopsy after the police suspected criminality based on results of the CT examinations. The results suggest CT scan may be a tool for preventing a number of overlooked crimes and accidents in Japan. However, it cannot be a perfect tool for discerning between death by disease and other causes of death without cooperation from the investigative agencies and subsequent forensic examinations such as autopsy and toxicological tests.
日本的死因调查方法主要依赖外部检查，可能会将相当数量的意外死亡和自杀误诊为因病死亡。我们对80例警方根据情况调查和外部检查结果判定为因病或自然原因死亡的案例进行了计算机断层扫描（CT）。在80例案例中，CT扫描明确确定了17例的死因。警方根据CT检查结果怀疑存在犯罪行为后，对其中10例进行了尸检。结果表明，CT扫描可能是一种防止日本发生一些被忽视的犯罪和事故的工具。然而，如果没有调查机构的合作以及后续的法医检查，如尸检和毒理学测试，它就不可能成为区分因病死亡和其他死因的完美工具。
