Normal organ weight range of previously healthy children aged 1-17 dying suddenly and unexpectedly.

Abstract

To develop new reference weight charts to be used at post-mortem examinations of children aged 1-17 years old and to compare this data with that of the charts currently in use (collected from as far back as the 1930s). Weights were extracted from the reports of postmortems conducted at our institution between 2003 and 2024 and corresponding to cases in whom death presented suddenly and unexpectedly (both natural and unnatural). The data were grouped according to sex, age and height. The postmortem interval was estimated to demonstrate if there was a notable difference between this and the weight range. The individual organ weight was analyzed and is presented in Tables according to age and sex and height. Of all the groups, the most numerous was the "2-year-old male", this was used to analyze any difference between the postmortem interval and the weight, demonstrating that there was no relevant variation. Important differences were demonstrated between our organ weight datasets and the historical charts. This retrospective study demonstrates the relevance of updating organ weight reference ranges, as using reference ranges dating from the 20th century may not accurately reflect the current standards in organ weights currently due to changes in lifestyle which can impact growth and development. KEY POINTS: • Currently used reference ranges for paediatric post-mortem are outdated and do not reflect the change in child growth and development over the past century due to lifestyle changes. • Comparison to new datasets produced using data from PM reports from SCH between 2003 and 2026 suggests a substantial difference in average organ weights between some historical values to now. • Further data collection of national and international organ weights in sudden and unexpected cases, with a larger sample size, is needed to create new reference ranges for paediatric post-mortems.