Year :
2024
| Month :
April
| Volume :
18
| Issue :
4
| Page :
HC01 - HC04
Cross-sectional Study on the Pattern of Skull Fractures in Fatal Two-wheeler Road Traffic Accidents at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Northeastern India
Nabajit Barman, Gobil Thapa, Swagata Dowerah
1. Associate Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh, Assam, India.
2. Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Diphu Medical College, Diphu, Assam, India.
3. Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, Lakhimpur Medical College, Lakhimpur, Assam, India.
Correspondence Address :
Swagata Dowerah,
Rupnagar, Dibrugarh-786003, Assam, India.
E-mail: swagatadowerah@gmail.com
Abstract
Introduction: Death due to Road Traffic Accidents (RTA) is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in a developing country like India. As there is a paucity of literature on the nature and type of injuries in RTAs in the locality of Upper Assam, a retrospective study on postmortem cases of fatal two-wheeler accidents was conducted to address the magnitude of the problem.
Aim: To analyse different types of skull fractures and causes of death among two-wheeler RTAs at tertiary care Hospital in Northeast India.
Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in the mortuary of Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh, Assam, India, for a period of one year from August 2020 to July 2021. The records of all RTA cases involving two-wheeler motorcycles brought for postmortem examination during this period were studied for parameters including age, gender distribution, cause of death, type of skull fracture, intracranial haemorrhage, and time of occurrence, and analysed using descriptive statistics.
Results: There were 532 fatal RTA cases recorded, out of which 292 involved two-wheelers (54.89%). Males (87.67%) outnumbered females (12.33%). The most affected age group was between 21-30 years with a total of 98 cases (33.56%), followed by 31-40 years with 68 cases (23.29%). Skull fracture was present in 103 cases (35.27%). Fissured fracture was the most common type seen in 64 cases (62.14%) followed by depressed fracture in 19 (18.45%). The most common single bone fracture was of the Temporal bone in 44 cases (42.72%), followed by frontal bone in 18 (17.48%). Coma was the most common cause of death, seen in 214 cases (73.29%), followed by haemorrhagic shock in 42 (14.38%). Subdural Haemorrhage (SDH) alone was the most common intracranial haemorrhage found in 159 cases (74.30%), followed by Extradural Haemorrhage (EDH) alone in 7 cases (3.27%).
Conclusion: Injuries to the skull and brain are the leading cause of death in RTAs. Adequate measures should be taken to prevent mortality and morbidity, achievable through strict enforcement of road safety measures, awareness among the people, and improving road infrastructure along with emergency medical services.
Keywords
Autopsy, Cause of death, Subdural haemorrhage, Time of death
DOI and Others
DOI: 10.7860/JCDR/2024/66886.19217
Date of Submission: Aug 06, 2023
Date of Peer Review: Nov 22, 2023
Date of Acceptance: Jan 20, 2024
Date of Publishing: Apr 01, 2024
AUTHOR DECLARATION:
• Financial or Other Competing Interests: None
• Was Ethics Committee Approval obtained for this study? Yes
• Was informed consent obtained from the subjects involved in the study? No
• For any images presented appropriate consent has been obtained from the subjects. No
PLAGIARISM CHECKING METHODS:
• Plagiarism X-checker: Aug 07, 2023
• Manual Googling: Nov 20, 2023
• iThenticate Software: Jan 18, 2024 (16%)
ETYMOLOGY: Author Origin
EMENDATIONS: 6
|