Department of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, University Hospital R. Poincaré (AP-HP, UVSQ), 104 R. Poincaré boulevard, 92380 Garches, France.
Eur J Radiol. 2012 Apr;81(4):639-47. doi: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2011.01.054. Epub 2011 Feb 5.
To investigate the interest of postmortem non-enhanced computer tomography (CT) for abdominal lesions in a forensic context of suspicions death and to list the different radiological cadaveric modifications occurring normally at abdominal stage, which must be known by non forensic radiologists in case of any postmortem exam.
30 cadavers have been submitted to a body CT-scan without injection of contrast material. CT exams were reviewed by two independent radiologists and radiological findings were compared with forensic autopsy data.
False positive CT findings included physiological postmortem transudates misdiagnosed with intra-abdominal bleedings, and putrefaction gas misdiagnosed with gas embolism, aeroporty, aerobily, digestive parietal pneumatosis. Incidentalomas without any role in death process were also reported. False negative CT findings included small contusions, vascular thromboses, acute infarcts foci, non radio-opaque foreign bodies. Normal cadaveric modifications were due to livor mortis and putrefaction, and are seen quickly (some hours) after death.
The non forensic radiologist should be familiar with the normal abdominal postmortem features in order to avoid misdiagnoses, and detect informative lesions which can help and guide the forensic practitioner or the clinical physician.
研究死后非增强计算机断层扫描（CT）在疑似死亡的法医背景下对腹部病变的兴趣，并列出在腹部阶段正常发生的不同放射学尸体改变，这是法医以外的放射科医生在进行任何死后检查时必须了解的。
对 30 具尸体进行了未注射造影剂的全身 CT 扫描。由两名独立的放射科医生对 CT 检查进行了审查，并将放射学发现与法医尸检数据进行了比较。
假阳性 CT 发现包括误诊为腹腔内出血的生理性死后渗出液，以及误诊为气体栓塞、气港、气浴、消化壁气肿的腐败气体。还报告了无任何死亡过程作用的偶然瘤。假阴性 CT 发现包括小挫伤、血管血栓形成、急性梗死灶、非不透射线的异物。正常的尸体改变是由于尸僵和腐败，在死后数小时内迅速出现。
非法医放射科医生应该熟悉腹部死后的正常特征，以避免误诊，并发现有助于法医从业者或临床医生的有信息的病变。
