An Autopsy Based Study on Fatal Road Traffic Accidents in the Mortuary of Patna Medical College, Patna (Bihar)

Abstract

Road Traffic Accidents (RTA) continue to be one of the leading causes of death in developing countries and
constitute a medico-legal autopsy case conducted in India.
Objective: To study the demographic profile and pattern of injuries among victims of RTA.
Materials and Methodology: Autopsy based study was carried out in the department of Forensic Medicine &
Toxicology, in the Mortuary of Patna Medical College, Patna from September 2018 to September 2021. The data
source included post-mortem reports, police inquest reports. History noted in the sheet as given by relatives and
friends of the deceased, crime scene, photographs, hospital, case records and laboratory investigation reports. The
data collected was analyzed and descriptive statistics such as percentages, ratios and proportion were used.
Observation and Results: A total of 8120 autopsies were conducted during the study period and among them 2030
(25%) cases were of RTA of these 6334 (78%) were males and 1786 (21.99%) female. Majority of the victims 23.49%
were in the age group of 21-30 years. Head injury 76.99% was the most common cause of death and subdural
haemorrhage (80.68%) was the commonest among the intracranial haemorrhages.
Conclusion: Road traffic accidents are preventable cause of mortality and there is urgent need to enhance road
safety by multi sector approach along with improving trauma care management in hospitals.