Contribution du scanner de l'extrémité sternale de la clavicule dans l'estimation de l'âge du sujet vivant

Computed tomography (CT) scan of the medial clavicular epiphysis is one of the methods recommended in forensic age estimation of living individuals. The aim of our study was knowing whether this analysis was contributory in estimating the age of an individual in relation to the 18-year threshold. We retrospectively selected 319 chest CT-scans of individuals aged between 15 and 30 years, performed in the radiology department of a French University Hospital during a five-year period. The sternal clavicular epiphysis was analyzed with a nine-stage scoring system. Among males and females, all individuals with a complete fusion, or an ongoing fusion of more than one third of the total surface of the metaphysis were at least 18-years old. Similar studies suggest that all individuals with a complete fusion of the medial clavicular epiphysis are aged 18 years or more. A simplification of the classifications that are used in this estimation could be interesting to limit the risk of errors.