Korean J Leg Med.  2020 Feb;44(1):24-30. 10.7580/kjlm.2020.44.1.24.

Usefulness of Near-infrared Spectroscopy for Diagnosis of Traumatic Intracranial Hemorrhage in Postmortem Inspection

• Park JP
• Lee TS
• Choi M
• Yang KM
• Park J
• Won Y
• Choi SG
• Lee K
• Kim JH
• Kang CL
• Choi SW

• KMID: 2471741
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.7580/kjlm.2020.44.1.24

Abstract

Near-infrared spectroscopy is a device used to determine whether traumatic intracranial hemorrhage has occurred and is primarily used for screening in emergency situations. In this study we examined the applicability of this equipment in postmortem inspection. This study included 124 autopsy cases and 59 postmortem inspection cases performed in the National Forensic Service from July 2017 to October 2018. We carried out the test using Infrascanner Model 2000 (Infrascan Inc.). Autopsy cases were divided into four groups (epidural hemorrhage or subdural hemorrhage group, traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage or cerebral contusion group, nontraumatic intracerebral hemorrhage group, and control group) and analyzed. There was no difference in the test results according to the presence and type of intracranial hemorrhage. The possibility that variables related to postmortem change affected the test results was considered. In conclusion, this study confirmed that near-infrared spectroscopy is not suitable for the detection of traumatic intracranial hemorrhage in postmortem inspection.

Keyword

Near-infrared spectroscopy; Intracranial hemorrhages; Postmortem changes

MeSH Terms

Autopsy
Cerebral Hemorrhage
Contusions
Diagnosis*
Emergencies
Hematoma, Subdural
Hemorrhage
Intracranial Hemorrhage, Traumatic*
Intracranial Hemorrhages
Mass Screening
Postmortem Changes
Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared*
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, Traumatic

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of difference in optical density (ΔOD) for postmortem diagnosis of traumatic intracranial hemorrhage.

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