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Abstract #3336

Minimally-invasive perinatal autopsy: post-mortem MRI with percutaneous organ biopsy

Lomas D, Whitehead A, Breeze A, Jessop F, Hackett G, Cross J, Hackett G, Lees C, Joubert I, Set P
Addenbrooke's Hospital

The decline in postmortem consent rates worldwide has led to MRI as a proposed alternative to perinatal autopsy, and researchers have examined their comparability. Despite increasing experience post-mortem MRI remains an unproven and investigational technique and there remains a question on its value in clinical practice. This study analyses the feasibility of MRI with percutaneous biopsy as an alternative to conventional autopsy. Thirty fetuses underwent whole-body post-mortem MRI and organ biopsies prior to conventional autopsy. The results support that Minimally-invasive perinatal autopsy is feasible.