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Gitto L, Serinelli S, Busardò FP, et al. Can post-mortem computed tomography be considered an alternative for autopsy in deaths due to hemopericardium?. J Geriatr Cardiol. 2014;11(4):363-7doi: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2014.04.013.
Gitto, L., Serinelli, S., Busardò, F. P., Panebianco, V., Bolino, G., & Maiese, A. (2014). Can post-mortem computed tomography be considered an alternative for autopsy in deaths due to hemopericardium?. Journal of geriatric cardiology : JGC, 11(4), 363-7. https://doi.org/10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2014.04.013
Gitto, Lorenzo, et al. "Can post-mortem computed tomography be considered an alternative for autopsy in deaths due to hemopericardium?." Journal of geriatric cardiology : JGC vol. 11,4 (2014): 363-7. doi: https://doi.org/10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2014.04.013
Gitto L, Serinelli S, Busardò FP, Panebianco V, Bolino G, Maiese A. Can post-mortem computed tomography be considered an alternative for autopsy in deaths due to hemopericardium?. J Geriatr Cardiol. 2014 Dec;11(4):363-7. doi: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2014.04.013. PMID: 25593587; PMCID: PMC4294154.
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J Geriatr Cardiol. 2014 Dec;11(4):363-7. doi: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2014.04.013.

Can post-mortem computed tomography be considered an alternative for autopsy in deaths due to hemopericardium?.

Journal of geriatric cardiology : JGC

Lorenzo Gitto, Serenella Serinelli, Francesco P Busardò, Valeria Panebianco, Giorgio Bolino, Aniello Maiese

Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medicine and Orthopaedics, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 336, Rome 00185, Italy.
  2. Department of Radiological Sciences, Oncology and Pathology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00161, Italy.

PMID: 25593587 PMCID: PMC4294154 DOI: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2014.04.013

Abstract

Hemopericardium is a common finding at autopsy, but it may represent a challenge for the forensic pathologist when the etiopathological relationship in causing death is requested. Hemopericardium and cardiac tamponade can be evaluated in living people using radiological techniques, in particular computer tomography (CT). Only a few studies are reported in literature involving post-mortem (PM) cases, where PMCT imaging has been used in order to investigate acute hemopericardium, and they have shown a good accuracy of this technique. Here we report a case involving a 70-year-old white male found dead on the beach, with a medical history of hepatitis C and chronic hypertension with a poor pharmacological response. A PMCT was performed about 3 h after the discovery of the body. The PMCT examination showed an intrapericardial aortic dissection associated to a periaortic hematoma, a sickle-shaped intramural hematoma, a false lumen, and a hemopericardium consisting in fluid and clotted blood. In this case, the PMCT was able to identify the cause of death, even though a traditional autopsy was required to confirm the radiological findings. PMCT is a reliable technique, which in chosen cases, can be performed without the need for a traditional autopsy to be carried out.

Keywords: Aortic dissection; Cardiac tamponade; Computer tomography; Hemopericardium

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