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Effectiveness of a worksheet for diagnosing postmortem computed tomography in emergency departments

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Japanese Journal of Radiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a worksheet for diagnosing postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) in emergency departments (EDs).

Materials and methods

A total of 49 cases of clinically diagnosed nontraumatic deaths in the ED who underwent total body PMCT were enrolled. PMCT images were prospectively evaluated by four radiologists: two radiologists with 1.5 and 3.5 years of residency and two board-certified radiologists with >20 years of experience. Readers were independently instructed to detect and interpret findings with reference to fatal findings, postmortem features, changes caused by cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and other pathological findings according to a worksheet that was composed of the possible findings previously reported. Agreement on detection and interpretation of findings between each reader was measured using Cohen’s kappa coefficients.

Results

For the detection of findings, there was substantial agreement among the four readers (kappa > 0.60, P < 0.0001). There was substantial (kappa > 0.60, P < 0.0001) and near-substantial (kappa = 0.60, P < 0.0001) agreement in the interpretation of the finding.

Conclusion

Results of our study suggest equivalency on diagnosing PMCT regardless of the reader’s level of experience. We conclude that the worksheet is useful for diagnosing PMCT in emergency departments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Niigata City General Hospital, 463-7 Shumoku, Chuo-ku, Niigata, 950-1197, Japan

    Naoya Takahashi, Takeshi Higuchi, Motoi Shiotani & Suguru Satou

  2. Department of Emergency and Critical Care, Niigata City General Hospital, Niigata, Japan

    Yasuo Hirose

Authors
  1. Naoya Takahashi
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  2. Takeshi Higuchi
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  3. Motoi Shiotani
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  4. Suguru Satou
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  5. Yasuo Hirose
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Naoya Takahashi.

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Takahashi, N., Higuchi, T., Shiotani, M. et al. Effectiveness of a worksheet for diagnosing postmortem computed tomography in emergency departments. Jpn J Radiol 29, 701–706 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-011-0618-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-011-0618-2

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