Computertomografi anvendt ved retsmedicinske obduktioner

Introduction: Computerized tomography (CT) is finding increased use in forensic medicine. In this article we present our experience with CT in medico legal deaths.

Material and methods: This is a retrospective double-blind investigation of 150 deceased individuals who were CT-scanned and autopsied. The CT-scanning was performed and interpreted by a specialist in forensic medicine.

Results: In 9 % of the cases, important findings at the CT-scanning were overlooked at the autopsy, and in 51 % important findings at the autopsy were not found at the CT-scanning. The cause of death could be established by CT-scanning in 30 %, by autopsy in 72 % and by toxicology in 21 % of the cases. CT-scanning was more useful in cases of traumatic death.

Conclusion: Computerized tomography is rarely a substitute for autopsy, but may contribute with important new information in many cases such as identifications (including mass-disasters), gunshot wounds and traffic accidents. Computerized tomography provides documentation in digital form that is easily stored and copied, permits review by others and provides pictures that may be more suitable for presentation in court than autopsy photos. CT may become helpful at the medico legal external examination (inquest) in the process of selecting cases for autopsy.