Postmortem radiology studies in the world and national healthcare: analysis of the literature data and opinions of russian specialists

Despite the special importance of autopsies of the deceased patients to determine the cause of death and the effectiveness of the treatment, in all countries there is a progressive decrease in their number. At the same time, there is an active introduction of postmortem radiological studies for the analysis of the bodies of deceased patients. The article presents an analysis of literature data summarizing the results of surveys of foreign specialists, as well as the opinions of Russian specialists on the possibilities and features of postmortem radiological studies, mainly of deceased newborns and infants. It is noted that postmortem radiological studies are carried out both as part of a pathoanatomical autopsy and forensic medical examination. Postmortem CT in cases of violent death and post-mortem MRI in cases of death from diseases were performed more often. The general clinical equipment located in clinical radiology departments was used more often than those located in the mortuary, pathology department or forensic facility. Analysis of the results of postmortem radiological examinations was carried out by radiologists in most cases, and a joint analysis by a radiologist and a pathologist was much less often. It is emphasized that in the Russian Federation, postmortem radiological studies are mostly of a single nature. According to Russian researchers, at the present time, when personalized medicine, radiation techniques and information technologies are developing, there is a need to use postmortem radiological studies to objectify and improve the accuracy of traditional autopsies. Postmortem radiological studies, which are objective operator-independent methods of examining the bodies of dead people, should be considered as a highly effective stage of pathology and, especially, forensic autopsy.