Estimation of stature from radiographically determined lower limb bone length in modern Chinese.

To develop population - specific stature prediction equations from measurements of the lower limb bone in a contemporary Chinese. 303 individuals of Han group in Western China, including 201 females and 102 males were collected. The study sample was randomly divided into two subgroups. A calibration sample, which consisted of 171 females and 87 males, was used to develop the regression formula. A validation sample comprising the remaining 30 female and 15 male individuals was then used to test the predictive accuracy of the established formula. The regression equations were developed from intact bones and fragments of the femur, tibia and fibula, the maximum lengths of femur, tibia, and fibula were highly correlated with the stature. The maximum length of femur provide the most accurate result with the prediction accuracy of 3.84 cm for unknown sex, 4.00 cm in the male group, 3.45 cm in the female group, 3.61 cm in the group with age no more than 45, 3.45 cm in the group with age above 45. Moreover, the multiple regression equations were developed, and they portray a more accurate stature in instances in which the femur, tibia and fibula are available. This paper provides indications that the femur, tibia and fibula are important bones for stature estimation and they could be effectively used in forensic cases.

Investigation of pathology malpractice claims in China from 2002-2015.

OBJECTIVE: To examine pathology-related medical claims in China and identify the most common errors to result in such claims. METHOD: A retrospective analysis was performed of 71 forensic evaluation reports carried out in two Chinese institutes of forensic medicine between 2002 and 2015 due to suspicion of medical malpractice. The judicial outcomes of each case were also reviewed when available. RESULTS: Of 71 cases, 54 cases had judicial outcomes. The most frequently claimed events were false-negative diagnoses of skin cancer, invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast, and osteosarcoma; and false positive diagnoses of uterine cervical squamous cell carcinoma, gastric carcinoma, and soft tissue carcinoma. The most common cause of error (82%, 56 of 68) was pathological misinterpretation. Plaintiffs in most cases (89%, 48 of 54) received compensation. CONCLUSION: Our data are in agreement with other findings regarding the most frequent medical malpractice allegations related to pathology. Addressing the issues at the root of these claims would lead to a decline in the number of medical errors. Quality assurance programs and good pathologist-clinician communication may decrease the risk of litigation.

[Relationship between Body Height and Craniofacial Lines Measured by CT in Southwest Han Males].

OBJECTIVE: To establish regression model between craniofacial lines and body height by measuring craniofacial lines in Southwest Han males using CT and to accumulate data for the study of forensic anthropology. METHODS: Head CT data of 273 Han males in Southwest were collected and 7 craniofacial lines were determined. Multiplanar reconstruction and volume rendering were performed by image post-processing software and the selected lines were measured. The relationship between each measuring indicator and body height was analyzed using SPSS 21.0 software. The regression equation of body height estimation was established and 50 samples were selected again and put into the mathematics models to verify its accuracy. RESULTS: The linear regression equations of 7 lines were established (P < 0.05). The correlation coefficients of the unary linear regression equations were 0.190-0.439 and the standard errors of the estimate (SEE) were 4.597-5.023 cm. The correlation coefficients of the multiple linear regression equation were 0.494-0.524 and the SEE were 4.418-4.458 cm. The return tests showed that the highest ± 1SEE accuracy of the multiple regression equation: y = 83.959+3.589 x6+2.573 x2, were 30%; and the highest ± 2SEE accuracy of the multiple regression equation: y = 72.646+3.316 x6+1.586 x2+1.553 x4+2.211 x3, were 92%. CONCLUSION: There is significant linear correlation between 7 selected lines and the stature in this study, and the plural linear regression equation established could be applied for estimating the stature of Southwest Han males.

Estimation of stature and sex from scapular measurements by three-dimensional volume-rendering technique using in Chinese.

In order to develop population - specific discriminant function equations and stature prediction equations for predicting sex and stature from measurements of the scapula in a contemporary Chinese, 414 individual 3D CT images were collected from participants undergoing routine examination. Sex differences for the variables were tested by Student's t-test. Fisher's method has been followed for discriminant analysis. Regression analysis was applied to match the six linear parameters against stature. The stepwise analysis of all measurements yielded a sex classification accuracy rate of 86.7% and a sex bias of 3.1%. All the classification accuracy rates of the univariate discriminant function analyses are of more than 80%. For stature estimation, the accuracy of stature prediction ranged from 5.252 to 7.210cm for male, from 4.630 to 6.484cm for female, respectively. This paper provides indications that the scapula is an important bone for sex diagnosis and it could be effectively used as alternatives in forensic cases. Furthermore, the equations presented for stature estimation in this study should be used as alternatives in forensic cases when long bones were unavailable for stature estimation.

[Relation between Body Height and Combined Length of Manubrium and Mesosternum of Sternum Measured by CT-VRT in Southwest Han Population].

OBJECTIVE: To establish the linear regression equation between body height and combined length of manubrium and mesostenum of sternum measured by CT volume rendering technique (CT-VRT) in southwest Han population. METHODS: One hundred and sixty subjects, including 80 males and 80 females were selected from southwest Han population for routine CT-VRT (reconstruction thickness 1 mm) examination. The lengths of both manubrium and mesosternum were recorded, and the combined length of manubrium and mesosternum was equal to the algebraic sum of them. The sex-specific linear regression equations between the combined length of manubrium and mesosternum and the real body height of each subject were deduced. RESULTS: The sex-specific simple linear regression equations between the combined length of manubrium and mesostenum (x3) and body height (y) were established (male: y = 135.000+2.118 x3 and female: y = 120.790+2.808 x3). Both equations showed statistical significance (P < 0.05) with a 100% predictive accuracy. CONCLUSION: CT-VRT is an effective method for measurement of the index of sternum. The combined length of manubrium and mesosternum from CT-VRT can be used for body height estimation in southwest Han population.

Stature estimation from sternum length using computed tomography-volume rendering technique images of western Chinese.

The objective of the present investigation was to generate linear regression models for stature estimation on the basis of sternum length derived from computed tomography-volume rendering technique (CT-VRT) images for Western Chinese. The study sample comprised 288 individuals of Western Chinese, including 124 females and 164 males, with documented ages between 19 and 78 years, and was randomly divided into two subgroups. The linear regression analysis for the calibration sample data yielded the following formulae: male stature (cm) = 137.28 + 1.99*combined length of manubrium and mesosternum and female stature (cm) = 111.59 + 3.51* combined length of manubrium and mesosternum. Pearson's correlation coefficients for the regression models were r = 0.459 and r = 0.541 for the male and female formulae, respectively. The standard errors of the estimate (SEE) were 4.76 cm for the male equation and 6.73 cm for the female equation. The 95% confidence intervals of the predicted values encompassed the correct stature of all specimen in the validation sample. The regression equations derived from the sternum length in the present study can be used for stature estimation and the length of the sternum is a reliable predictor of stature in Chinese when better predictors of stature like the long bones are not available, and the CT-VRT method may be a practical method for stature estimation.