Observational studyPediatric radiology2017
The value of postmortem computed tomography in paediatric natural cause of death: a Dutch observational study.
Observational study in Pediatric radiology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 18 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Joint European Society of Paediatric Radiology (ESPR) and International Society for Forensic Radiology and Imaging (ISFRI) guidelines: paediatric postmortem computed tomography imaging protocol.Pediatric radiology · 2019Guideline
- Dutch guideline for clinical foetal-neonatal and paediatric post-mortem radiology, including a review of literature.European journal of pediatrics · 2018Guideline
- Autopsy in sudden unexplained death in youth: indispensable or in some cases redundant? An observational study.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Observational
- Postmortem CT angiography in infants and young children (pedPMCTA): Technical feasibility and emerging forensic insights from a 30-case study.International journal of legal medicine · 2026Article
- The current state of forensic imaging - post mortem imaging.International journal of legal medicine · 2025Review
- Postmortem diagnostics in sudden unexpected death in infants and children: use and utility.European journal of pediatrics · 2025Observational
- A review of methods of age estimation based on postmortem computed tomography.Forensic sciences research · 2025Review
- Clinical Significance of Whole-Body Computed Tomography Scans in Pediatric Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Patients Without Prehospital Return of Spontaneous Circulation.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Usefulness of virtual autopsy in diagnosing pathologies in the paediatric population: A systematic review.SAGE open medicine · 2023Review
- Postmortem computed tomography plus forensic autopsy for determining the cause of death in child fatalities.Pediatric radiology · 2022Article
- Review
- Multidisciplinary approach to suspected sudden unexpected infant death caused by milk-aspiration: A case report.World journal of clinical cases · 2020Article
- Added value of post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT) to clinical findings for cause of death determination in adult "natural deaths".International journal of legal medicine · 2020Article
- Pediatric postmortem computed tomography: initial experience at a children's hospital in the United States.Pediatric radiology · 2019Review
- Perinatal post mortem ultrasound (PMUS): a practical approach.Insights into imaging · 2019Review
- Diagnostic accuracy of perinatal post-mortem ultrasound (PMUS): a systematic review.BMJ paediatrics open · 2019Article
- Cardiovascular causes of sudden unexpected death in children and adolescents (0-17 years) : A nationwide autopsy study in the Netherlands.Netherlands heart journal : monthly journal of the Netherlands Society of Cardiology and the Netherlands Heart Foundation · 2018Article
- Review: The past, present and future challenges in epilepsy-related and sudden deaths and biobanking.Neuropathology and applied neurobiology · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPostmortem CT is a relatively new field of interest within paediatric radiology. This paper focusses on its value in cases of unexpected natural death.
objectiveWe report on an observational Dutch study regarding the value of postmortem CT in children with an assumed natural unexpected death because postmortem CT is part of the Dutch NODO (additional investigations of cause of death) procedure. MATERIALS AND
methodsWe included consecutive children who fulfilled criteria for the NODO procedure and were therefore referred to one of the centres for the procedure. Postmortem CT was performed in all cases and skeletal survey was performed in all children ages <5 years. The cause of death was defined in a consensus meeting.
resultsWe included a total of 54 children (30 boys, median age 1.1 years, and 24 girls, median age 0.8 years). A definitive cause of death was established in 38 cases. In 7 cases the cause of death could be identified on postmortem CT. In 7 cases imaging findings were clinically relevant but did not lead to a cause of death. In the remaining 40 cases postmortem CT did not add to the diagnostic workup.
conclusionOur study shows that in a group of children who unexpectedly died of an assumed natural cause of death and in whom a cause of death was found at autopsy, postmortem CT detected the cause of death in a minority of cases (12.9%). In the majority of cases (74.1%) postmortem CT did not add value in diagnosing the cause of death.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.