Neck Findings in Hanging: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study of Conventional Autopsy and Postmortem CT-Based Virtual...

Area of Science:

• Forensic pathology
• Radiology
• Public health

Background:

• Hanging is a leading cause of suicide deaths requiring medicolegal autopsy.
• Family consent for conventional autopsy can be challenging.
• Virtual autopsy offers a less invasive alternative.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of virtual autopsy (VA) using postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) in detecting neck findings in hanging.
• To compare VA findings with conventional autopsy (CA).

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 19 hanging cases.
• All cases underwent both VA (PMCT) and CA.
• Comparison of neck findings between the two methods.

Main Results:

• Strong agreement between VA and CA for ligature material identification.
• VA detected ligature marks with 89.5% accuracy and knot position with 84.2% accuracy.
• Hyoid bone fracture was detected by both VA and CA in one case.

Conclusions:

• VA using PMCT is effective for identifying neck findings in hanging, particularly skin and bony structures.
• VA can serve as a valuable supplement to CA in hanging cases.
• VA can reduce autopsy duration and address family concerns about body integrity.