Virtual autopsy as an alternative to traditional medical autopsy in the intensive care unit: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Autopsy is an important educational and quality-control tool in the intensive care unit (ICU), but rates of traditional medical autopsies have declined worldwide. "Virtual" autopsy involving only advanced radiographic techniques might provide an alternative approach to postmortem examinations.

Objective: To assess the value of postmortem multidetector computed tomography as an alternative to medical autopsy.