Clinico-pathological profile in deaths due to burns.

Burn injuries occur universally and have plagued mankind since antiquity till the present day. Burns represent an extremely stressful experience for both the burn victims as well as their families. An extensive burn profoundly affects the patient's physique, psyche, financial situation and family. Patients with extensive burns frequently die, and for those with lesser injury, physical recovery is slow and painful. In addition to their dramatic physical effects, burn injuries frequently cause deleterious psychological complications. In all societies including developed or developing countries, burns constitute, a medical and psychological problem, but also have severe economic and social consequences not only to them, but also to their family and society ingeneral.24% cases were not hospitalized. 40% cases died within 24 hours of sustaining burns. 38% cases were unconscious before death. 66% cases had given dying declaration Mechanical injuries were present in 10% cases. 84% cases of total cases were alleged cases of accident. The major cause of death was Septicemic shock in 56% cases.

A two-year burns fatality study.

A severe burn injury is the most devastating injury a person can sustain and yet hope to survive. It is a common catastrophe today as burn injury cases are one of the common emergencies admitted to any hospital. There are several social, economic, cultural and psychological factors interplaying which influence the reporting, treatment, management and if the patient dies the further investigations. As the etiological factors of burn injuries vary considerably in different communities, careful analysis of the epidemiological features in every community is needed before a sound prevention programme can be planned and implemented. When stratified by age, more females were found in most age groups. Most burns were domestic, with cooking being the most prevalent activity. The maximum incidence of burn injuries in males were noted in the age group of 21-30 years. 56% cases who suffered burns were housewives.26% females had 91-100% burns. Smell of kerosene was present in 4% cases. Maximum burns were of 3rd degree with 28% males and 54% females. Head & neck were involved in 94% cases Extremities were involved in all cases.

Fatal road traffic accidents among young children.

Fatal road traffic accidents in childhood constitute a significant public health problem. Young children are extremely vulnerable to such injuries which are vastly preventable. 59 cases of fatal road traffic accidents in children aged below 16 years, autopsied during 1 year period were studied. Males accounted for 83.1% cases with male-female ratio of 4.9. The most common age group involved was 13-16 years. The most frequent victims of road traffic accidents were pedestrians (61%) followed by cyclists (13.6%). More than half of the cases occurred in winter season and majority occurred at 12-4 PM. Children themselves were at fault in majority of cases. Head injury alone was fatal in 72.9% cases. None of the victim received any treatment or first-aid at the site of accident. 72.9% of victims died with in 6 hrs of accident. The study highlights the pattern of fatalities due to road accidents in children and suggests suitable preventive measures to reduce burden of childhood mortality due to road accidents.

Dilemma for autopsy surgeon.

Postmortem artifacts are commonly encountered problems in routine. They had to wrong interpretation in number of cases especially at the hands of an inexperienced autopsy surgeon and hence may mislead the course of justice. So it is suggested that all the doctors concerned with medicolegal work, especially autopsies, should be well versed with these artifacts. Then only our opinion will be conclusive and aid in the administration of justice.

A review of pedestrian traffic fatalities.

Pedestrians injured in automobile accidents constitute one of the most frequent serious problems in management for emergency room surgeons. The incidence of deaths in pedestrians is significantly higher than in other road users. This study attempted to analyse the pattern of injuries sustained by 129 pedestrians in road traffic accidents. It was found that the pedestrians were the commonest group of victims involved in fatal road accidents comprising 28.7% of all cases. 83.7% cases were males. There were two peaks of incidence in relation to age; one at childhood (20.9%) and the other in elderly (19.37%). Cars and heavy vehicles were the commonest offending agents comprising 41.9% and 31.8% respectively. The pedestrians themselves were at fault in 43.4% cases. Head injury was seen in 80% cases; followed by lower limb fractures (42.6%), and chest injury (38.8%). The cause of death was head injury in 56.6% cases followed by thoraco-abdominal injuries in 8.5% cases and multiple injuries in 7.8% cases.

Trends of suicides in north eastern rural Haryana: A retrospective study.

Suicide patterns and rates differ in various populations and cultures. It is known that in most countries that have been studied, more than 90 percent of those who commit suicide have a mental disorder. This behavior, although often triggered by external factors, occurs in vulnerable individuals who have a neurobiological and often familial predisposition. Suicides in rural India are attributed mostly to crushing financial pressures on farmers. Indebtedness, crop failure and the inability to pay back loans due to high rates of interest have led as many as 25,000 peasants in India to commit suicide since the 1990s, according to official figures. The present study was designed to investigate the different methods of self-destruction, age and gender susceptibility to suicide, the groups particularly affected and the underlying motivating factors for such an extreme step among rural North Eastern Haryana people. Various suggestions relating to decreasing the tensions of modern life, proper use and storage of agrochemicals and financial improvement of farmers have been put forward.

Current scenario of forensic medicine in India.

The subject of Forensic Medicine provides solutions to some of the most urgent concerns in our society, and focuses on the areas in which medicine and human behaviour interface with the law and acts as a clinical investigator providing a vital liaison between the investigative process and court of law. Till date, no importance has been given for the upliftment of this subject. At many places, the department remains on the most dirtiest and neglected part of the college. In this paper, some problems are highlighted and suggestions have been given for saving the future of this important subject in our country.

Recent scenario of criminal negligence in india doctor, community & apex court.

The subject of "criminal negligence by doctors" is always a complex matter for medical fraternity and a great challenge before judiciary. In recent years, sudden spurt of cases of "negligence" (about 20000 a year as estimated by the IMA) and decision of two Judges Bench of SC in Dr. Suresh Gupta vs. Govt. of NCT of Delhi, on 4th August 2004, and another decision by three Judges Bench of Apex Court, exactly after one year i.e. on August 5, 2005 in an appeal filed by Dr. Jacob Mathew of CMC, Ludhiana, Punjab, raises a fresh debate and gives an opportunity to medical fraternity for introspection about implementation of medical ethics, update of knowledge and enhancement of skill, but not an immunity against filing of 'criminal negligence suits' against them. This paper deals with recent scenario of "Criminal Negligence" in India, its impact on medical fraternity, law-enforcing agencies and in large on community and applicability of SC's Guidelines of 2005 for registration of cases u/s 304-A IPC against doctors in case of death of patient during treatment.

Sex related homicides and offenders: A medico-legalists view.

The advances in criminalistics and forensic psychiatry in these present times and the combined studies of workers of the specialties of Forensic Medicine and Psychiatry has led to renewed interest in investigating and documenting sex crimes. The term offender is used for a person who actively takes part in an offence or goes blatantly against the law. The term can be simultaneously / interchangeably used for a criminal. Sex related homicides include rape murders, serial murders, killings involving both of anal and oral sodomy and other acts of sexual perversions terminating in homicide. In this paper a brief summarization of sex related crimes, their psychodynamics and offender profile is detailed with comparative comments vis-à-vis the Indian and Western scenarios.

Pattern and distribution of injuries in fatal road traffic accidents in Rohtak (Haryana).

Accidents are now one of the major causes of death. In this study pathological features of these cases as type of injury, pattern and distribution of injuries, body parts involved, fatal injuries and cause of deaths were noted at the actual autopsy examination of victim. All the data thus collected was analyzed statistically.