An Autopsy Study of Fatal Road Traffic Accidents (RTA) at Medico legal Centre of a Tertiary Health Care Hospital In South Western Maharashtra : Six Year Retrospective Study

Abstract

Every year the lives of approximately 1.35 million people are cut short as a result of a road traffic accidents. Road traffic injuries cause considerable economic losses to individuals, their families, and to nations as a whole. In developing countries Road traffic accident (RTA) is a major contributor to unnatural deaths which are preventable. Both human and  environmental factors are responsible for it. The present 6 year retrospective study was undertaken to study the profile of RTAs. Out of the 1467 medico-legal autopsies performed during the study period, 263 (17.9%) were due to fatal RTAs. There were 217 (82.5%) males and 46 (17.5%) female fatalities with an overall male and female ratio of 4.72:1 and 21 to 30 years age group showed highest number of victims in both males (28.6%, n=62) and females (26.1%, n=12). The winter season took the maximum toll of road traffic deaths (28.5%, n=75) followed by summer season (26.6%, n=70).  Most of the accidents involved two wheelers (78.3%, n=206) and timing for most of the accidents was between 12 PM to 6 PM (29.6%, n=78). Spot death was noted in 26 cases (9.89%) and in most of the cases the survival period was between 2-6 days (18.6%, n=22). The most common mechanism of death was craniocerebral trauma (72.2%, n=190)  followed by haemorrhagic shock in 44 cases (88.2%). Road traffic injuries can be prevented. Governments need to take action to address road safety in a holistic manner. This requires involvement from multiple sectors such as transport, police, health, education, and actions that address the safety of roads, vehicles, and road users. This study intends to highlight the magnitude of problem and suggest measures which can help in reducing mortality.