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Parameters for estimating the time of death at perinatal autopsy of stillborn fetuses: a systematic review
- Source :
- International Journal of Legal Medicine. 133:483-489
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2019.
-
Abstract
- Background: Stillbirth is defined by the WHO as birth of a fetus with no vital signs, at or over 28 weeks of pregnancy age. The estimation of time of death in stillbirth appears crucial in forensic pathology. However, there are no validated methods for this purpose. Objective: To perform a systematic review of the available literature regarding the estimation of the time of death in stillborn fetuses, in terms of hours or days. Methods: Electronic databases were searched from their inception to August 2018 for relevant articles. Macroscopic, histologic, and radiologic parameters were evaluated. Results: Nine studies with 664 stillborns were included. The evaluation of extent and location of fetal maceration signs showed good accuracy in estimating the time of death; by contrast, a dichotomous assessment of maceration (present vs absent) was found to be unreliable in a subsequent study. Histologic assessment of the loss of nuclear basophilia in fetal and placental tissues showed excellent accuracy; an “autolysis equation” was proposed to achieve an even higher accuracy in fetuses who had been dead for
- Subjects :
- Forensic pathology
medicine.medical_specialty
Placenta
Vital signs
Maceration (bone)
Autopsy
01 natural sciences
Pathology and Forensic Medicine
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Pregnancy
Parenchyma
Humans
Medicine
030216 legal & forensic medicine
Forensic Pathology
Lung
Stillbirth, Intrauterine death, Fetal death, Autopsy, Maceration, Perinatal pathology
reproductive and urinary physiology
Cell Nucleus
Fetus
medicine.diagnostic_test
business.industry
Obstetrics
010401 analytical chemistry
Brain
Magnetic resonance imaging
Stillbirth
medicine.disease
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Basophils
0104 chemical sciences
Basophilia
Postmortem Changes
Female
business
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14371596 and 09379827
- Volume :
- 133
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- International Journal of Legal Medicine
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....16b5e8cdebcadd0aef50db3bd505124d