Pattern of female deaths: An autopsy-based cross-sectional study

Authors

  • P. Ravi Kumar Professor& HOD, JNU Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Keywords:

Autopsy, Cause of death, Homicide, Suicide, Unnatural deaths, females, manner of death, medicolegal deaths

Abstract

Objective:To find out the pattern of firearm deaths including its manner and demographical aspects in Islamabad and to see institutions, administrations and planning authorities are taking remedial steps to reduce firearm deaths comprising of the most of the unnatural deaths in a society. Materials and Methods: This is a Cross-sectional study conducted at Tertiary care teaching hospital over a period of 1 year. The major sources of information reviewed in this study were the autopsy registers and autopsy reports of the police clinic, Benin City, Edo State, over 10 years. Results: A total of 200 female medicolegal autopsies were performed, accounting for 17.4% of all cases. The mean age of cases was 38.20 ± 17.39. Age group of 30–39 years accounted for 14.3% (n = 90) of cases, closely followed by the age group of 20–29 years, which accounted for 16.2% (n = 80) of cases. Accidental deaths accounted for 37% (n = 74) of cases. RTA was the most common cause of accidental deaths (n = 55; 84.4%). The most common pattern of RTA was a vehicle knocking down a pedestrian as seen in 36 cases (40.4%). The most common age group involved in RTA was 20–29 years (n = 17; 18.8%). For homicides, shotguns were mainly used (n = 25; 31.3%), distantly followed by those caused by the use of sharp objects (n = 14; 17.4%) and most cases belonged to the age groups of 40–49 years and 30–39 years (21.2% and 16.2%, respectively). In 4 (66.8%) cases, hanging was the method of choice for suicide. A majority of suicide victims (n = 2; 45%) were aged between 30 and 39 years, with an average age of 36.3. Diseases of the cardiovascular system accounted for 13.1% (n = 10) of cases, whereas pregnancy-associated deaths (excluding criminal abortions) accounted for 10% (n = 8) of cases in the natural causes group. Conclusion: There is a need to provide basic infrastructure, formulate policies, and implement them, to reduce female MLD, which a significant number of them are preventable.

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Published

2022-01-27

How to Cite

P. Ravi Kumar. (2022). Pattern of female deaths: An autopsy-based cross-sectional study. International Journal of Health and Clinical Research, 4(18), 54–58. Retrieved from https://ijhcr.com/index.php/ijhcr/article/view/4125