Profile of Medico-legal Autopsy Cases in a Rural based Tertiary Care Hospital of Central Part of Gujarat during COVID-19 Pandemic: A One Year Retrospective Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/jiafm.2023.45.4.9Keywords:
Medico-legal autopsy, Profile, COVID-19 pandemic, Sudden deaths, Natural deaths, Unnatural deathsAbstract
During COVID-19 pandemic, almost all the efforts had been made by each and every state of countries across the world to collect the data on deaths due to COVID-19, however very few articles are available regarding the indirect effects of COVID-19 pandemic. The downfall of unnatural deaths seemed inevitable even during the lockdown period. The study was conducted to analyze the pattern and distribution of autopsy cases related to natural and unnatural deaths during COVID -19 pandemic Financial Year (FY) 2020-21. It was observed that minimum numbers of cases were received during the month of August 2020 and maximum numbers of cases were received in March 2021. A total of approximately 74 % of unnatural deaths registered during the period of COVID-19 FY 2020-2021 were due to injuries. The results of study will contribute to the literature. This study may even help to compare any rise or decline in autopsy cases during COVID-19 pandemic with various states of India as well as foreign countries.
Downloads
References
Park JP, Kim SH, Lee S, Yoo SH. Changes in Clinical and Legal Autopsy Rates in Korea from 2001 to 2015. J Korean Med Sci. 2019;34(47):e301. doi: 10.3346/jkms. 2019.34.e301. PMID: 31808323; PMCID: PMC6900410.
Petros K, Wittekind C. Die Obduktion. Autopsy-a procedure of medical history?]. Med Klin Intensivmed Notfmed. 2014;109(2):115-20. doi: 10.1007/s00063-013-0214-6. Epub 2.
Carpenito L, D'Ercole M, Porta F, Di Blasi E, Doi P, Fagara GR, Rey R, Bulfamante G. The autopsy at the time of SARS
CoV-2: Protocol and lessons. Ann Diagn Pathol. 2020; 48:151562. doi: 10.1016/j.anndiagpath.2020.151562. Epub 2020 Jul 4. PMID: 32653819; PMCID: PMC7334655
Shah W, Batra S, Batra H, Paul CP. Spectrum of medicolegal autopsies in a tertiary care center in andaman and nicobar islands : causes and trends over two decades. Indian Journal of Applied Research 2021; 11(3): 37-9.
Bogdanović M, Atanasijević T, Popović V, Mihailović Z, Radnić B, Durmić T. Is the role of forensic medicine in the covid-19 pandemic underestimated? Forensic Sci Med Pathol. 2021;17(1):136-138. doi: 10.1007/s12024-020-
-2. Epub 2020 Sep 21. PMID: 32955718; PMCID: PMC7502652.
Dmetrichuk JM et al. Retrospective study of non-natural manners of death in Ontario: Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health measures. The Lancet. 2022;7:1-16.
Pell R et al. Coronial postmortem reports and indirect COVID-19 pandemic-related mortality. J Clin Pathol. 2022;0:1–6. doi:10.1136/jclinpath-2021-208003
Koirala S, Subedi K, Subedi N. Unnatural Deaths among Autopsy Cases Brought at Tertiary Care Hospital of Western Nepal during COVID-19 Pandemic Period: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study. J Nepal Med Assoc. 2021;59(244): 1293-6.
Babu SS, Raveendran R, Anwar KA. Comparison of pattern of death during pre-lockdown and lockdown period in Central Kerala- An Autopsy study. Asian J of Med Sci. 2021;12(7):17- 21.
Tam CF, Cheung KS, Lam S. Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak on ST-Segment-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Care in Hong Kong, China. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2020; 13(4):e006631.