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Comparison of CT Values between Thrombus and Postmortem Clot Based on Cadaveric Pulmonary Angiography
Zhi-Ling Tian1, Ruo-Lin Wang2, Jian-Hua Zhang1
1Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Ministry of Justice, Shanghai Forensic Service Platform, Academy of Forensic Science, Shanghai 200063, China.
Objectives:
To explore the difference in CT values between pulmonary thromboembolism and postmortem clot in postmortem CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) to further improve the application value of virtual autopsy.
Methods:
Postmortem CTPA data with the definite cause of death from 2016 to 2019 were collected and divided into pulmonary thromboembolism group (n=4), postmortem clot group (n=5), and control group (n=5). CT values of pulmonary trunk and left and right pulmonary artery contents in each group were measured and analyzed statistically.
Results:
The average CT value in the pulmonary thromboembolism group and postmortem clot group were (168.4±53.8) Hu and (282.7±78.0) Hu, respectively, which were lower than those of the control group (1 193.0±82.9) Hu (P<0.05). The average CT value of the postmortem clot group was higher than that of the pulmonary thromboembolism group (P<0.05).
Conclusions:
CT value is reliable and feasible as a relatively objective quantitative index to distinguish pulmonary thromboembolism and postmortem clot in postmortem CTPA. At the same time, it can provide a scientific basis to a certain extent for ruling out pulmonary thromboembolism deaths.
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