A Comprehensive Study of Deaths due to Railway Accidents Reported at a Tertiary Care Hospital Mortuary during the Period of January to December 2015

Introduction: Cities are locations having a high level ofaccumulation and concentration of economic activities andare complex spatial structures that are supported by transportsystems. The evolution of mass rapid transport system in theform of sub-urban railway network has increased railwaycasualties in the cities as the railroads pass through residentialand commercial zones. Hence, the aim of the present studywas to assess the analysis of death due to railway accidents ina tertiary care hospital.Material and Methods: During the study period, total 5240autopsies were conducted in Osmania General HospitalMortuary, out of which 474 were due to railway accidents.All the findings of autopsy report were noted and relevantphotos at the time of autopsy were taken. In relevant cases,wherever necessary the organ were collected and was sent forhistopathological examination. Autopsy on all cases of deathsdue to railway accidents conducted at Mortuary, OsmaniaGeneral Hospital in 2015 were included in the present study.Results: Maximum fatalities were reported among thirddecade of life i.e. 31-40 years followed by second and fourthdecade i.e. 21-30 years. Lowest number of fatalities wasreported from eighth and first decade of life i.e. 81-90 years. Inaccidental cases cause of death in most of the cases is multipleinjuries, followed by head injury and head injury associatedwith other injuries.Conclusion: Highest number of accidents happened whilecrossing the railway track, followed by people lying on thetrack or jumping in front of a moving train. In suicidal deathsmost of the cases were due to decapitation, followed by crushinjuries. About 7 cases of traumatic transection were reportedduring the period of study.

​A Comprehensive Study of Deaths due to Cervical Spine Injuries in Various Cases Reported at a Tertiary Care Hospital Mortuary during the Period of January to December 2015

Introduction: The cervical spine is made up of the first 7vertebrae, referred to as C1-7. It functions to provide mobilityand stability to the head while connecting it to the relativelyimmobile thoracic spine. A cervical spinal injury makes aperson morbid and it is the most crippling disease and themost common cause of spinal cord injuries are motor vehicleaccidents. Hence, the aim of the present study was to assessthe anatomical distribution of cervical spine injuries and drawa parallel with mortality and to study cervical spine injuries inrelation to variety of trauma.Material and methods: The present study was conductedamong 93 cases which were obtained from sample sizecomprised of all cases with cervical spine injury autopsiedat medico legal center between January to December 2015.The cases for study included wherever the cervical spinewas traumatically injured alone or in combination with otherinjuries.Results: A total of 5240 cases were autopsied at medico legalcentre of which 93 cases had clear demonstrable cervicalspine injuries. Of the 93 cases 68 cases are identified bodiesand 25 are unknown. Total number of cases is 93 out of which87 were males and 6 were females.Conclusion: It was found that the mortality due to cervicalspine injury comprised 1.77% of all cases. Majority ofvictims were males with female ratio 87:6. Common agegroup involved in the study was 31-40 years. Accidental casescomprised 74% of all cases and the rest 26% were suicidalcases.