Gopal B K

Abstract

Introduction: Hanging is the most frequently encountered asphyxial death in forensic medicine practice. It is the second most common method employed to commit suicide in India. Easy availability and presence of wide range of ligature materials at home itself makes hanging a preferred method of committing suicide. This study was done at Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences & hospital Bangalore with an aim to evaluate suicidal hangings through perusal of postmortem reports retrospectively during the study period between Jan 2011 to Dec 2013. Materials and Methods: During the 3-year study period the study population had a total of 519 decedents ranging between age 11 years to 77 years. Victims of both sexes comprised the study population. Suicidal hangings with reference to age, sex, socioeconomic status of the decedents, educational qualification, motive, time, type of suspension and position of knot were studied to evaluate the relationship between different parameters. Results: 62.63% of the decedents were males. The most common age group affected were in their third decade of life, who made 43.35 population 66.1% of victims died in complete suspension and remainder 33.0952% of victims had typical know placement while 47.6% had atypical knot placement. 58.38% of victims belonged to lower socioeconomic strata of which a majority shared an educational qualification up to pre-university weighing a percentage of 26%. The motive in majority of the deaths remained unknown (38.15%), family disputes ranked second with a percentage of 36.03. Keywords: Suicide, Hanging, Autopsy, Death, Pattern, Suspension, Knot.

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Abstract

Introduction: Road traffic accidents are regarded as the most common non communicable epidemics of the world. They are also a major cause for morbidity and mortality. The most common and vulnerable part of the body which is affected during road accidents is the head. This study was done at KIMS hospital Bangalore with an aim to observe the range of cranio-cerebral injuries by analysing the postmortem records between January 2011 to December 2012 retrospectively, which would provide valuable data for implementing effective emergency services to reduce trauma related mortality. Materials and Methods: During the 2-year study period the study population had a total of 143 decedents ranging between age 5 years to 84 years. Victims of both sexes comprised the study population. The spectrum of head injuries with respect to incidence of skull fractures and type of intracranial haemorrhage were noted. Results: Male predominance was seen over females in 83% of cases. The most common age group to be affected was between 21-30 years, who made 30% of study population. 52% of the decedents had skull fractures, of which 50% of them had sub-arachnoid haemorrhage followed by 47% of decedents with sub-dural hemorrhage. Pedestrians accounted to 38% of the decedents while the remainder 62% accounted for vehicular occupants. Keywords: Road Traffic accidents, Death, Head Injury, Cranio-cerebral, Fracture, Autopsy.

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