Implementation of pediatric and fetal postmortem imaging into clinical practice: a multi-society statement from the ESPR, SPR, SLARP, AOSPR, WFPI, and IAFR

Postmortem imaging (PMI) following fetal, perinatal, and pediatric demise is increasingly requested and used in clinical practice, either as a non-invasive adjunct or alternative to conventional autopsy. Use of such techniques in clinical departments may face numerous barriers and challenges, varying between centers, countries, and continents, influenced by differences in healthcare systems, funding sources, and local regulations. Furthermore, different issues arise for each specific indication of pediatric PMI (such as intra-uterine demise, termination of pregnancy for confirmation of anatomical abnormalities, and forensic investigations of infants and childhood deaths) since the processes, goals of the investigation, and involved teams vary with indication and/or resource setting. This multi-society position statement describes how different countries currently deal with those challenges, and proposes universal consensus recommendations, enablers, and practical tips to facilitate the successful implementation of fetal and pediatric PMI across medical imaging departments. Implementation to a minimum standard will help resource allocation, collaboration between centers, and multi-center studies in a new field where patient data is scarce.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Pediatric Radiology
Published
2026-05-23
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-026-06639-6
Primary Topic
Autopsy Techniques and Outcomes
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Implementation of pediatric and fetal postmortem imaging into clinical practice: a multi-society statement from the ESPR, SPR, SLARP, AOSPR, WFPI, and IAFR

Ajay Taranath, Elka Miller, Owen J. Arthurs, Aurélie D’Hondt et al.
Pediatric Radiology
Autopsy Techniques and Outcomes
article

Implementation of pediatric and fetal postmortem imaging into clinical practice: a multi-society statement from the ESPR, SPR, SLARP, AOSPR, WFPI, and IAFR

Ajay Taranath, Elka Miller, Owen J. Arthurs, Aurélie D’Hondt, Osamu Miyazaki, Teresa Victoria, Marta Gomez-Chiari, Susan Shelmerdine, Lizbet Perez-Marrero, Stacy Goergen, David Perry, Padma Rao, Willemijn Klein, Sharon Gould, Rick R van Rijn, Maiko Yoshida, Michael Aertsen, Manisha Jana
article en

Abstract

Postmortem imaging (PMI) following fetal, perinatal, and pediatric demise is increasingly requested and used in clinical practice, either as a non-invasive adjunct or alternative to conventional autopsy. Use of such techniques in clinical departments may face numerous barriers and challenges, varying between centers, countries, and continents, influenced by differences in healthcare systems, funding sources, and local regulations. Furthermore, different issues arise for each specific indication of pediatric PMI (such as intra-uterine demise, termination of pregnancy for confirmation of anatomical abnormalities, and forensic investigations of infants and childhood deaths) since the processes, goals of the investigation, and involved teams vary with indication and/or resource setting. This multi-society position statement describes how different countries currently deal with those challenges, and proposes universal consensus recommendations, enablers, and practical tips to facilitate the successful implementation of fetal and pediatric PMI across medical imaging departments. Implementation to a minimum standard will help resource allocation, collaboration between centers, and multi-center studies in a new field where patient data is scarce.

Pediatric Radiology
Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona (ES), Royal Adelaide Hospital (AU), The Royal Melbourne Hospital (AU), Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE), Royal Children's Hospital (AU), Radboud University Nijmegen (NL), Thomas Jefferson University (US), Chiba University (JP), University of Toronto (CA), Great Ormond Street Hospital (GB), Universitair Ziekenhuis Leuven (BE), Women's and Children's Hospital (AU), Hospital for Sick Children (CA), Clínica Alemana (CL), Radboud University Medical Center (NL), Massachusetts General Hospital (US), Nemours Children's Health System (US), Monash Health (AU), National Center For Child Health and Development (JP), SickKids Foundation (CA), Starship Children's Health (NZ), Amsterdam University Medical Centers (NL), University College London (GB), Monash University (AU), The University of Adelaide (AU), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (IN), KU Leuven (BE)
Partnerships for the goals
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Autopsy Techniques and Outcomes
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.