Analysis of Deaths due to Drowning - A Retrospective Study

Abstract

introduction: Drowning refers to death within 24 hours of a submersion incident. According to the WHO, it is the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion/ immersion in liquid. Determining the cause of death in bodies found in water is quite challenging which can be achieved with thorough investigation and complete autopsy after which only the pathologist certifies a death based on drowning. The experts in the field of Forensic Medicine are facing difficulties in estimation of time, cause and mode of death. Hence, the present study aimed to analyse the various aspects of drowning deaths whose Post Mortem were conducted in the mortuary of Osmania General Hospital in the year 2004. Material and Methods: The present study was a retrospective study which was conducted among 150 dead subjects. All the dead bodies recovered from different sources of submersion irrespective of age or sex and either with fresh or decomposed bodies were included in this study. Detailed history related to place of the incident, type of water body, position of the body and other relevant findings were obtained from the previous records. Results: The majority of the subjects with drowning were 82.6% of the males followed by 17.3% of the females. The place of drowning was found to be in ponds (41.3%) and ditch (29.3%) followed by rivers (17.3%) and lakes (8%). The time of drowning was seen in majority of the subjects i.e. 60% of subjects died 09:00-13:00 and 25.3% subjects during 13:01-18:00 followed by 8% at 0:0-8:59 and 6.6% at 18:01-23:59 conclusion: The magnitude of drowning is higher among males in and around the jurisdiction of Osmania. It has been proved that drowning has become an undervalued problem with inclusion of child population. Hence, there is a necessity for prevention among all the ages by the government so that overall burden caused by drowning can be reduced.

​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

“…The share of cervical spine deaths in our study population is more or less nearly equal. 12 Age distribution wise deaths are common in 31-40 years group. Similar results were obtained in An Epidemiological Survey of Fatal road traffic accidents and their relationship with head injuries.…”