The use of post-mortem CT in the investigation of pregnancy losses

Background: The loss of a pregnancy, whether spontaneous or induced for medical reasons, is a very traumatic event for the parents. In many cases, the reasons for a fetal abnormality or miscarriage are not clear but can be very important for future pregnancy planning and patient counselling. Fetal autopsy is performed as often as possible, but some parents cannot consider autopsy at a very stressful time in their lives, and others cannot consent for cultural or religious reasons. Methods: Multi-slice CT scans were performed on 101 fetus who also underwent full autopsy. Results: The quality of the images obtained was variable, being affected by the gestation at which delivery occurred, as well as the time between death and delivery. Image quality was better with advanced gestation and minimal delay between death and delivery. Organs that were well seen included the skeleton and brain, while the pancreas and thyroid were poorly seen. The presence and position of most organs was able to be confirmed in most cases. Examples of CT images with corresponding pathology images are compared. Conclusion: Post-mortem CT has a limited role in the investigation of pregnancy losses.