role of virtual autopsy in uncertain clinical scenarios

ABSTRACT

We present a case of a patient who was transferred from the general ward to the ICU in an unstable condition and passed away within approximately twenty-four hours without having had full investigations due to her unstable clinical condition. In the absence of necessary investigations, a virtual autopsy to search for a medical cause of her rapid deterioration was performed. The virtual autopsy revealed cardio-respiratory failure. Post-mortem computed tomography [PMCT] scans were performed, which revealed that the immediate cause of her deterioration was most likely to have been a myocardial infarction associated with pneumonia