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Introduction
Growth is characterised by an increase in organ size and weight. In living individuals, organ growth is studied by using anatomical imaging methods to obtain information on their shape and size and also with metabolic imaging techniques to gather data on organ function. Several recent works suggest that measurement of the volume of whole organs or segments thereof by imaging techniques might be an interesting method to follow organ growth and trophicity in patients with different pathologies. 1 - 3 However, very few studies have compared the 'virtual' (by imaging techniques) and the real volumes of organs determined at autopsy. 4 5
In the clinic, sudden infant death remains one of the few cases in which an autopsy performed by a specialist pathologist is strongly suggested to try to identify the cause(s) of death and to assess organ trophicity and weight of all organs, measured ex corporis. These last values are usually compared with those of reference biometric tables. 6 However, in France, parents may refuse postmortem investigations and no specific authority can over-ride this refusal. Moreover, parental consent for autopsy has been declining over recent years. Therefore, in this 2-year prospective study, we assessed the possibility of using postmortem MRI to estimate organ size in infants aged between 1 week and 1 year after sudden death. To this aim, we compared the results obtained using a semiautomated 3D volume reconstruction method that allows measuring the organ volumes from postmortem MRI images with the data on organ volumes obtained at autopsy.
What is already known on this topic
The measurement of organ volumes by imaging techniques might be an interesting method to follow organ growth and trophicity in patients with different pathologies.
The assessment of organ volumes and weights in deceased patients may be influenced by the phenomenon of tissue maceration that occurs naturally after death.
What this study adds
There was generally good agreement between postmortem MRI measurements and directly measured volumes at autopsy for most solid organs, as assessed in a cohort of sudden infant death syndrome/sudden unexpected death in infancy patients.
The technique is least useful for the adrenals and the heart.
Methods
Study patients
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) still affects about 12 infants per year in the Languedoc-Roussillon...