A Pilot Study Comparing Postmortem and Antemortem CT for the Identification of Unknowns: Could a Forensic Pathologist Do It? |
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Authors: | Zabiullah Ali MD Nikki Mourtzinos DO Bakr B Ali BS David R Fowler MD |
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Institution: | 1. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner – Forensic Pathology, 900 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, 21223 MD;2. Department of Chemistry, University of Salisbury, 1101 Camden Ave, Salisbury, 21801 MD |
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Abstract: | Forensic pathologists are commonly tasked with identifying human remains. Although DNA analysis remains the gold standard in identification, time and cost make it particularly prohibitive. Radiological examination, more specifically analog imaging, is more cost-effective and has been widely used in the medical examiner setting as a means of identification. In the United States, CT imaging is a fairly new imaging modality in the forensic setting, but in more recent years, offices are acquiring CT scans or collaborating with local hospitals to utilize the technology. To broaden the spectrum of potential identifying characteristics, we collected 20 cases with antemortem and postmortem CT images. The results were qualitatively assessed by a forensic pathologist and a nonmedically trained intern, and all cases were correctly identified. This study demonstrates that identification of human remains using visual comparison could be performed with ease by a forensic pathologist with limited CT experience. |
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Keywords: | forensic science forensic radiology postmortem CT paranasal sinuses cranial fossae mass fatality decomposition |
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