Post-mortem fundus photographs in sudden unexpected death in infancy: An overview of the typical findings.
Macular retinal fold on post-mortem eye exam linked to longer time since death
Post-mortem fundus photographs in sudden unexpected death in infancy: An overview of the typical findings.
To show post-mortem fundus photograph (post-mortem fundus photograph) features seen in sudden unexpected death in infancy (sudden unexpected death in infancy), to detect retinal hemorrhages, which are a crucial hallmark for abusive head trauma (abusive head trauma).
Single-center, retrospective study with sudden unexpected death in infancy cases included by a French sudden unexpected death in infancy referral center in the French national registry for sudden unexpected death in infancy cases between 2017 and 2025.
macular fold cases had a much longer post-mortem interval
Of the 78 sudden unexpected death in infancy cases recorded in Nantes, 65 underwent a fundus examination, of which 46 had post-mortem fundus photograph available.
The mean age at death was 4.5 ± 4.9 months, 30 children were male (65%).
The main post-mortem fundus photograph features were retinal changes resembling central retinal artery occlusion and macular and/or peripheral white radial retinal folds.
Retinal hemorrhages were found in four non-abusive cases with non-specific fundus features and in two confirmed abusive head trauma cases, with abusive head trauma-suggestive features.
The normal post-mortem fundus in children under two years old shows a "central retinal artery occlusion" pattern, followed by the appearance of macular or peripheral white radial retinal folds, that should not be mistaken for circumferential perimacular retinal folds and hemorrhagic retinoschisis cavities that have been described in abusive head trauma cases.
post-mortem fundus photograph allow detecting and documenting retinal hemorrhages, which may be indicative of infanticide.