Usefulness of autopsy imaging for cases of death after out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest

Abstract

Autopsy imaging (Ai) with CT were performed to determine the causes of death after out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest. We report the CT findings. The study involved 285 OHCPA cases undergoing Ai between 2009 and 2016. After CT examinations were performed, imaging were interpreted by radiologists. The causes of death were determined from CT images alone in 78 patients and were estimated by CT imaging with circumstances of death in another 21 patients. As a result, the causes of death were guessed in 99 of 285 patients (35%). Ai may be a useful approach to determine the cause of death.