PATTERN OF INTRACRANIAL HAEMORRHAGES IN FATAL ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS
Journal Title: Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences - Year 2017, Vol 6, Issue 62
Abstract
BACKGROUND Head injury is defined as a morbid state resulting from gross or subtle structural changes in the scalp, skull and/or contents of skull due to application of mechanical forces. 1 Brain is the organ most frequently damaged by blunt trauma. Road traffic accidents constitute the majority of cases of head injuries in the world. Traumatic intracranial haemorrhages constitute a common and treatable source of morbidity and mortality associated with head injury. The present study is an autopsy study to analyse the medico-legal aspects of intracranial haemorrhages in fatal road traffic accidents. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present case series study was done on 154 cases of fatal intracranial haemorrhages due to road traffic accidents brought to autopsy to the Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical College, Trivandrum, during the period from 01. 04. 2000 to 30. 11. 2000. RESULTS The study found that road traffic accidents contributed 67% of fatal intracranial haemorrhages followed by fall from height (15%) and the maximum age incidence of road traffic accidents was in the 4th decade. Males constituted 87.7% of victims due to road traffic accidents. Pedestrians topped the list of road traffic accident victims (33.8%) followed by motor cyclists (25.3%) and occupants of vehicles (22.7%). Among the vehicles involved in road traffic accidents, two wheelers were the most commonly involved (40.2%) followed by cars (16.2%) and auto rickshaws (15.6%). The maximum mortality (67.8%) was in the first 24 hours of the occurrence of the accident and 31% died within the first hour itself and skull fracture was present in (74%) of cases. The commonest intracranial haemorrhage was subarachnoid haemorrhage (90.9%) followed by subdural (82.5%), intracerebral (22%) and brain stem (21.4%) haemorrhages. Commonest site of intracerebral haemorrhage was in the temporal lobe (76%) and frontal lobe (44%). CONCLUSION In the modern world, trauma is the leading cause of death in people below 40 years of age and the majority of this occur due to traumatic brain injury. Road traffic accidents are the major cause of traumatic intracranial haemorrhages. The most common type of intracranial haemorrhage is subarachnoid followed by subdural, intracerebral and brain stem haemorrhages.
Authors and Affiliations
Rajeev V. M
Keywords
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- EP ID EP230564
- DOI 10.14260/Jemds/2017/987
- Views 103
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