Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34090259›Full record

ArticleForensic science international2021

Use of post-mortem chest computed tomography in Covid-19 pneumonia.

Fabio De-Giorgio, Francesca Cittadini, Alessandro Cina, Elena Cavarretta, Giuseppe Biondi-Zoccai, Giuseppe Vetrugno, Luigi Natale, Cesare Colosimo, Vincenzo L Pascali

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Article in Forensic science international, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. The current state of forensic imaging - post mortem imaging.International journal of legal medicine · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Fabio De-GiorgioDepartment of Health Care Surveillance and Bioethics, Section of Legal Medicine, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy; Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: fabio.degiorgio@unicatt.it.
Francesca CittadiniDepartment of Health Care Surveillance and Bioethics, Section of Legal Medicine, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy; Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Alessandro CinaFondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Oncological Radiotherapy and Hematology, Diagnostic Imaging Area, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Elena CavarrettaDepartment of Medical-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Latina, Italy; Mediterranea Cardiocentro, Napoli, Italy.
Giuseppe Biondi-ZoccaiDepartment of Medical-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Latina, Italy; Mediterranea Cardiocentro, Napoli, Italy.
Giuseppe VetrugnoDepartment of Health Care Surveillance and Bioethics, Section of Legal Medicine, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy; Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Luigi NataleFondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Oncological Radiotherapy and Hematology, Diagnostic Imaging Area, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Cesare ColosimoFondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Oncological Radiotherapy and Hematology, Diagnostic Imaging Area, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Vincenzo L PascaliDepartment of Health Care Surveillance and Bioethics, Section of Legal Medicine, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy; Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimCOVID-19 is an extremely challenging disease, both from a clinical and forensic point of view, and performing autopsies of COVID-19 deceased requires adequately equipped sectorial rooms and exposes health professionals to the risk of contagion. Among one of the categories that are most affected by SARS-Cov-2 infection are the elderly residents. Despite the need for prompt diagnoses, which are essential to implement all isolation measures necessary to contain the infection spread, deceased subjects in long-term care facilities are still are often diagnosed post-mortem. In this context, our study focuses on the use of post-mortem computed tomography for the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection, in conjunction with post-mortem swabs. The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of post-mortem whole CT-scanning in identifying COVID-19 pneumonia as a cause of death, by comparing chest CT-findings of confirmed COVID-19 fatalities to control cases. MATERIALS AND

methodsThe study included 24 deceased subjects: 13 subjects coming from long-term care facility and 11 subjects died at home. Whole body CT scans were performed within 48 h from death in all subjects to evaluate the presence and distribution of pulmonary abnormalities typical of COVID-19-pneumonia, including: ground-glass opacities (GGO), consolidation, and pleural effusion to confirm the post-mortem diagnosis.

resultsWhole-body CT scans was feasible and allowed a complete diagnosis in all subjects. In 9 (69%) of the 13 cases from long-term care facility the cause of death was severe COVID 19 pneumonia, while GGO were present in 100% of the study population.

conclusionIn the context of rapidly escalating COVID-19 outbreaks, given that laboratory tests for the novel coronavirus is time-consuming and can be falsely negative, the post-mortem CT can be considered as a reliable and safe modality to confirm COVID-19 pneumonia. This is especially true for specific postmortem chest CT-findings that are rather characteristic of COVID-19 fatalities.

Indexed as

Tomography, X-Ray ComputedAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAutopsyCase-Control StudiesCOVID-19FemaleHumansLungMaleMiddle AgedPleural EffusionRetrospective StudiesSensitivity and SpecificityWhole Body ImagingAutopsyCoronavirusCOVID-19PneumoniaPost mortem changesPost mortem computed tomography

Identifiers

PMID34090259
PMCPMC8154189

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Registered trials

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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.