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Updated: Feb 17, 2026
Murine Fetal Echocardiography
Published on: February 15, 2013
Diagnosis of congenital abnormalities with post-mortem ultrasound in perinatal death
L Tuchtan1, E Lesieur2, C Bartoli3
1Department of forensic pathology, CHU Timone, AP-HM, 264, rue Saint-Pierre, 13385 Marseille cedex 5, France; CNRS, EFS, ADES UMR 7268, Aix-Marseille university, 13916 Marseille, France; Department of fetopathology, CHU Timone, AP-HM, 264, rue Saint-Pierre, 13385 Marseille cedex 5, France.
Purpose:
To determine the sensitivity and specificity of post-mortem ultrasound in the diagnosis of major congenital abnormalities of fetuses using conventional autopsy as the standard of reference.
Material And Methods:
All fetuses coming from terminations of pregnancy or intrauterine fetal deaths in a single institution were included. A total of 75 fetuses were included during the study period. The results of post-mortem ultrasound examinations were compared to those of conventional autopsy that served as standard of reference.
Results:
Gestational age of the fetuses ranged from 15 to 38 weeks gestation. A complete post-mortem ultrasound assessment was possible in all fetuses. Regarding detection of brain abnormalities, post-mortem ultrasound had a sensitivity of 81.5% or 4/5 (95% CI: 63.3-91.8%), and a specificity of 97.9% (95% CI: 89.1-99.6%). Specificities for the diagnosis of thoracic, cardiac, urinary tract, spinal and bone abnormalities were 100%.
Conclusion:
Post-mortem ultrasound shows high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of congenital structural abnormalities as compared to conventional autopsy, with the exception of congenital cardiac diseases.
