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Author Spotlight: Diatom Testing for Forensic Drowning Examination
Published on: November 10, 2023
Postmortem computed tomographic features in the diagnosis of drowning: a comparison of fresh water and salt water
Makoto Sugawara1, Koichi Ishiyama2, Satoshi Takahashi2
1Division of Diagnostic Radiology, Akita University Hospital, 1-1-1 Hondo, Akita, Akita, 010-8543, Japan. masugawa@doc.med.akita-u.ac.jp.
Purpose:
To investigate the effectiveness of postmortem computed tomography in the diagnosis of drowning, focusing on the comparison of fresh water and salt water cases using three-dimensionally (3D) reconstructed data.
Materials And Methods:
We examined features of drowning in 25 fresh water drowning cases (FWDCs; 13 men, 12 women; mean age 73.1 years; range 43-95 years), and compared these with 12 salt water drowning cases (SWDCs; 5 men, 7 women; mean age 66.0 years; range 55-77 years). Pulmonary opacities, volume and density (CT number) of accumulated fluid in the paranasal sinuses and central airways, volume of the stomach/stomach contents, and cardiac blood density were examined.
Results:
In SWDCs, pulmonary ground-glass opacities with wholly thickened interstitium was frequently identified (P = 0.0274). Whereas in FWDCs, a significantly larger volume and lower density of fluid in the paranasal sinuses (P = 0.0195 and P = 0.0104, respectively), lower density of fluid in the central airways (P = 0.0077), lower stomach content density (P = 0.0216), lower density in the left atrium (P = 0.0029), and a difference of density between the atria (P = 0.0247) were observed.
Conclusions:
A lower density in the left atrium was observed in FWDCs compared to SWDCs. This finding may be helpful in differentiating between FWDCs and SWDCs.
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