Imaging of sudden unexpected death in infancy: a comprehensive nationwide French survey

Rationale and objectives Introduction of post-mortem imaging has helped improve sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI) management in Europe. French guidelines were issued in 2007 to homogenise SUDI investigations including imaging. The aim of this study was to evaluate current imaging management...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Pediatric radiology Vol. 54; no. 10; pp. 1720 - 1728
Main Authors:	Margerin, Mathilde, Ducloyer, Mathilde, Morel, Baptiste, Delbreil, Alexia, Mergy-Laurent, Martine, Tasu, Jean Pierre, Dumas, Victor
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-09-2024 Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:	Autopsy Autopsy - methods Biopsy Brain Computed tomography Diagnostic Imaging - methods Female France Guidelines Humans Imaging Infant Infant, Newborn Magnetic resonance imaging Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods Male Medical imaging Medicine Medicine & Public Health Neuroimaging Neuroradiology Nuclear Medicine Oncology Original Article Pediatrics Practice Patterns, Physicians' - statistics & numerical data Radiography Radiology Sudden Infant Death Surveys Surveys and Questionnaires Ultrasonic imaging Ultrasound France Child abuse Sudden death in infancy Forensic imaging Guidelines
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Rationale and objectives Introduction of post-mortem imaging has helped improve sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI) management in Europe. French guidelines were issued in 2007 to homogenise SUDI investigations including imaging. The aim of this study was to evaluate current imaging management of SUDI in France. Material and methods Between January 2022 and July 2022, all 35 SUDI French referral centres were invited to answer an e-mailed online survey including 29 questions divided into four different sections covering imaging practices for SUDI including radiology department organisation, imaging modalities performed, methods of reading, and current training resources. Partial responses were secondarily completed by a personal call to the SUDI imaging consultant. The current implementation of the 2007 recommendations was compared with a previous evaluation from 2015 and with current North American practices. Results The participation rate of centres performing SUDI imaging was 100% (35/35). Imaging was systematically performed in 94.3% (33/35) of the centres: 74.3% (26/35) using radiography; 5.7% (2/35) using ultrasound; 94.3% (33/35) using computed tomography (CT), including 89% (31/35) whole-body CT and 5.7% (2/35) brain CT; and 20% (7/35) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Two centres (5.7%, 2/35) did not systematically perform brain imaging. One (2.9%, 1/35) used ultrasound-guided biopsy. In comparison with 2015, rates of brain imaging increased by 25.4% ( P =0.008). There was no significant difference in the number of forensic MRIs performed between France and North America ( P =0.663). Conclusion Despite improvements since 2015, full compliance with French guidelines for SUDI investigations remains incomplete. The use of imaging, particularly CT and brain imaging, has increased. Further efforts are needed to standardise imaging practices for optimal SUDI investigations. Graphical abstract
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1432-1998 0301-0449 1432-1998
DOI:	10.1007/s00247-024-06013-4