A postmortem study of demographics and severity of thoracoabdominal injuries among patients attending a teaching hospital in northeast India.

Abstract

The global estimate reflects 4.4 million injury-related deaths every year and the thoracoabdominal region is frequently injured since it is a wide area. An autopsy-based cross-sectional study was conducted using a convenient sampling technique for three years. A Chi-square test was conducted for categorical variables. A <i>P</i> value of less than 0.01 was considered statistically significant. Out of 80 cadavers, the male:female ratio was 1:0.31. The commonest age group was 20-29 years. Victims of road traffic accidents were 54 (67.5%) followed by falls from height 10 (12.5%). External thoracic injuries were commoner than internal and vice versa in abdominal injuries. Liver injuries were major in number. Combined thoracic-abdominal and associated injuries were observed in 67 (83.75%) victims. The commonest cause of death was craniocerebral injury combined with hemorrhagic shock (36.25%). Eighteen (22.5%) victims died on the spot having an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 73.37 followed by a survival time of 1-7 days in 17 (21.25%) cases. A significant correlation was found between ISS and survival period. All thoracic and abdominal injuries represent a possible increase in morbidity and mortality; hence, working toward their prevention and timely intervention is necessary.