[Suffocation due to foreign body aspiration visualized by post-mortem CT].

The aspiration of a foreign body is a high-risk event in the life of an infant or toddler, which needs fast clinical diagnosis and therapy. If the respiratory tract is massively obstructed, the aspiration can be fatal, as shown in the case of an 18-month-old child. The little boy choked on a fragment of a hazelnut shell. Besides radiography and bronchoscopy, a CT scan can be of special value to visualize the foreign body. Based on the data obtained, a virtual bronchoscopy can be calculated. Compared with conventional radiography, the advantages of computed tomography are better image quality, higher indicative value and the possibility to exactly localize the foreign body in the respiratory tract. In the presented case, the nutshell could be visualized in the larynx before autopsy.