Indian Journal of Forensic and Community Medicine

73-76

Authors: Priyanka Devgun, Navpreet Kaur, Avi Singh

Depression is struggling to survive in a body that is trying to die. Depression is one of the most talked about health topics as well as being one of the most researched ones. Unfortunately, it also bears a social stigma which is probably why it is talked about in hushed voices and the sufferers are wary of coming out in the open and seeking help. Adolescent depression is well on its way to being recognized as to what ails the young today but still not much is being done to address the problem. Studies show that 1 out of 20 adolescents suffer from a major bout of depression in his lifetime. Some of which unfortunately end up committing suicide. Others battle low self-esteem, thoughts of self-harm or fall prey to sexual misadventures, drugs and alcohol abuse and indulge in antisocial behavior. The young are the assets and resource of any country. Their needs should be addressed on priority so that next generations can flourish.

81-84

Authors: Ashish Jain, DN Bhardwaj.

The trends of poisoning differ from country to country and also from one region to another within the same country due to differences in the socio-economic condition, cultural practices and ease of availability of poison or drug among various regions. There is paucity of accurate data regarding fatal poisonings in India due to lack of enough Poison Information Centers, which hampers the prevention and control of poisoning deaths. A cross sectional observational study based on autopsy and laboratory investigation was carried out over a period of 2 years, at the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi to find out the distribution and determinants of the fatal poisonings in South Delhi region of India. In this study, poisoning deaths accounted for 4.65% of all medico-legal autopsies done during the study period. Majority of poisoning fatalities were observed among male, age group 21-40 years, married, and middle class families. Majority of cases were suicidal. Insecticides and rodenticides were most common killer poisons followed by alcohol. Mental illness or mental depression was present in 34.5% of cases, while substance abuse was encountered in 26.1% of cases. Past history of prolonged physical illness was present in 3.4% of cases.

90-94

Authors: Anju Gahlot, Som Nath, Pankaj Kumar, Manjusha Nath.

India's population has been steadily increasing at the rate of 16 million each year and is projected to reach 1.53 billion by the year 2050. The total contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) in India among married woman is estimated at 56.3% as per NFHS-3 data...The family welfare programme is mainly based on a "Cafeteria approach"; where by a number of methods of contraception are offered to the eligible couples. Considering the improvement in prevalence of contraceptive users & privacy, safety and efficacy of long acting injectables, the study was undertaken to evaluate prevalence of contraceptive methods among married women of different ages in urban area of Kanpur & source of information & side effect of Injectable Contraceptive DMPA in study population. Materials and Method: This is community based observational cross sectional study including randomly selected 350 Married women of reproductive age group( 18-49 years) residing in urban field practice of Rama Medical College hospital and research center, Kanpur. Data was collected with the help of set proforma and then analysed with SPSS software version 21 & Chi square test was applied appropriately. Results-Prevalence of contraceptive measures among eligible subject were, condom 27.23% followed by IUCD 22.77% & OCP 20.98%, Sterilization 13.54% & DMPA 9.8%. There is statistically significant association between different age groups & types of contraceptives used (chi square) x2 = 78.451, d.f.= 30, & p =.000. Educational status of middle or higher class passed were comparatively using more contraceptives. Majority 11(55%) had Husband/family member as the source of information for injectable contraception. Amenorrhoea (68.18%) was the main side effect of DMPA in study. Conclusion: The prevalence of contraception use (63.14.%) is improving among urban dwellers. Middle or higher classes passed were utilizing more contraceptive measures. DMPA is a safe, effective, reversible but neglected long acting injectable contraceptive. Acceptance is highest when DMPA comes into the basket of contraceptives. There is a need to develop standardized protocols for counselling, training of ASHA and ANMs and strengthening of health system.

101-105

Authors: Gowri Shankar, Bhagyalaxmi Sidenur.

Introduction: Cause of death statistics from hospitals are considered along with mortality data from other sources to constitute the essential statistics on the health of a population. Mortality data is used to periodically review health priorities, set research agendas and monitor progress towards national and global health and development goals. There has been an increase in the frequency of new health problems like coronary heart disease, hypertension, cancer, diabetes and accidents. The emerging picture is a mixture of the old and modern diseases. Hence, this study was done to know the socio demographic profile and pattern of causes of death in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in Bagalkot, Karnataka, India. Materials and Method: The case reports of all deaths for the 5 year period i.e. 2012 to 2016 from the Medical Records Department were analyzed to study the socio demographic profile and the pattern of causes of death. The deaths were classified according to ICD 10th revision. Results: In all the 5 years, male deaths were more than female deaths. Almost three- fourths of deaths were in males and females from rural areas. Non communicable diseases contributed to 62.88% to 72.75% of the deaths during the 5 year study duration. Conclusion: The present study indicates that Bagalkot district is going through an epidemiological transition from communicable to non communicable diseases and there is a need for health awareness in the community about changing lifestyles and its harmful effects on health.

111-114

Authors: Zohreh Mahmoodi, Mohamad Reza Havasian, Morteza Salarzaei.

Asthma is one of the most common diseases, and it is one of the main factors behind physical disabilities as well as high economic costs. The present research aims at studying the prevalence of cardiac arrhythmias in asthmatic patients of Amir-al-Momenin Hospital of Zabol in 2013. In this cross-sectional, descriptive study, as many as 200 asthmatic patients were studied; the participants’ minimum age was 15, maximum was 80, and they had no history of heart diseases. The information and data related to the participants of the present study were collected through using standard questionnaires. Spirometry and electrocardiogram was taken from the patients, and the arterial blood oxygen was measured through using pulse oximetry. The data were analyzed through using SPSS 18. The present study indicated that from among the 200 asthmatic patients studied, 19 patients suffered from cardiac arrhythmia. Among these 19 patients, seven patients had sinus tachycardia, 8 patients had PVC, 1 patient had MAT, and 3 patients had Rbbb. With respect to the drugs taken, cardiac arrhythmia was more common among patients who used beta-agonists together with anticholinergic, glucocorticoids, and theophylline’s. The findings of the present study indicated that the prevalence of cardiac arrhythmia was relatively high among the asthmatic patients. The present study indicated that due consideration must be given to asthma and the attempts toward early cardiac arrhythmias diagnosis through taking electrocardiogram in periodic examinations and giving the patients awareness about the symptoms of arrhythmia so that early diagnosis of arrhythmia in asthmatic patients is made.

121-123

Authors: SV Parate, AK Samanta, S Harish, Girish Chandra.

Introduction and Objective: In this 21st century autopsy surgeon often encounters various types of treatment related injuries during autopsies. They must be able to distinguish between injuries caused by therapeutic procedures and those caused by other factors, such as assaults and accidents. This prospective study was conducted at M.S. Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore, from October 2008 to March 2010 with aims and objectives to study the pattern of Iatrogenic cutaneous artefacts encountered during autopsy and to ascertain the relationship of Iatrogenic cutaneous artefacts to sex of the deceased if any. Materials and Method: Data was collected by detailed questionnaire, focusing on the history furnished by the police in requisition form and inquest report, by the relatives and hospital records. Result: Iatrogenic cutaneous artefact was present in 58.13% cases. Out of these 34.38% were males and 23.75% were females. Most common cutaneous artefact was intravenous injection line mark mimicking like contusion. It was present in 45.00% cases. Defibrillator burn artefact was present in 12.80% cases. Chest abrasion/contusion was present in 13.13% cases. Iatrogenic cutaneous artefacts were found to be independent and there is no relation between these artefacts and sex of the deceased. Discussion: In a prospective study by JP Krischer, EG Fine, JH Davis and EL Nagel defibrillator burn artefact was found in 30.70 % cases and chest abrasion/contusion was present in 59.30% cases. This may be because of increase awareness regarding proper use of Defibrillator. Conclusion: Whenever in doubt about nature of infliction of injury autopsy surgeon should refer hospital case sheet particularly emergency room records and may have talk with treating doctor whenever possible before labelling such injury as evidence of underlying assault, accident or an artefact.

128-133

Authors: Veena Naik, Saurabh Prakash, Soo Zee Yen, Sofia Binti Roslan, Sivanesan A/L Ramasamy.

Age estimation presents a complex problem and requires considerable experience in recognizing significant changes and allowing for their variability with in any particular population. Tooth eruption and tooth calcification are the two events that can be used to measure dental age in children and adolescents. Although, Demirjian's and Nolla’s method are considered standard for dental age estimation, it may not be reliable for all population. Aim: The goal of the study was to evaluate the reliability of Demirjian's and Nolla’s method of dental age estimation in determining chronological ages in younger individuals of Malaysian population based on developmental stages of third molar. Study Design: A retrospective study was performed on panoramic radiographs of 100 subjects aged between14 to 22 years. Estimated age (EA) was calculated using Demirjian's and Nolla’s methods and compared with chronologic age (CA) for each patient. Results: The mean of CA of the study sample was 18.5500 ± 2.36. Using the Demirjian method, the mean of EA was 18.8562 ± 2.10. For Nolla method, the mean of EA was 17.1625 ±2.11. Conclusion: Hence the above results indicates that the Estimated age (EA) by Demirjian method was more close to chronologic age (CA) showing no significant variations between the two, Suggesting that the Demirjian method is more significant in determining age in younger individuals of Malaysian population.

138-142

Authors: Vijay Kautilya D, Shruti P. Hegde, Khatija Begum, Prithika Chandrashekaran.

Introduction: Indian has been an agricultural nation where most of the population is involved in agriculture. Yet the farmers are a neglected section of the society. Use of pesticides has been rampant in agriculture and this has made the farmers vulnerable to the risks of pesticide application. Our aim was to survey the level of awareness of the farmer regarding pests, pesticides and their correct methods of use as this data can help us design interventional programs tailored for the population under study. Materials and Method: A Cross-sectional questionnaire based survey was conducted among 172 paddy farmers in Kancheepuram district of Tamil-Nadu, India. The questionnaire consisted of both open ended and closed ended questions directed toward collecting demographic data and other relevant data on crops being cultivated, general knowledge and attitude on pesticide handling, safety, risk perception and protection ideas. The results were analyzed using (SPSS version 20) for descriptive statistics. Results and Discussion: Of the 172 farmers 93% denied knowledge of any pesticide regulations and only 18.6% accepted reading the instructions given on the pesticide labels before application. Considering the safety precautions 94 (54.1%) of the subjects accepted not using any safety precaution while spraying. Of the 172 farmers in the study, 104 (60.5%) followed advice given by the retailers from whom they buy the pesticide. Even the dosage was being prescribed by the retailers. In only 37.2% of cases the pesticides were being sprayed in the fields by skilled labors. Conclusion: It is clear from the study is that the farmers need training, education and financial support. Safety gears need to be provided at a subsidized rates and their proper use must be demonstrated. Farmers also need to understand the use of integrated pest management.