Original Research

Critical Appraisal of Unknown Autopsies; A Retrospective Study at Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Department, KEMU, Lahore

Muhammad Sarmad Janjua1
Department of Basic Medical Sciences
Aamat-ul-Fatima Aamat-ul-Fatima1
Department of Basic Medical Sciences
Ahraf Munawwar1
Department of Basic Medical Sciences
Arif Rasheed Malik2
2Department of Forensic medicine and Toxicology King Edward Medical University

✉ Correspondence: Muhammad Sarmad Janjua Email: sarmadshahid473@gmail.com

DOI https://doi.org/10.70302/jpsim.v3i2.2223
Volume: 3, Issue 2 Pages: 121–123 Published: 15 Jun 2022
Received: 12 Jan 2022 Accepted: 11 Apr 2022 Published Online: 15 Jun 2022

Abstract

Objective

to determine the demography of critical unknown autopsies among unknown bodies received at department of forensic medicine and toxicology, KEMU Lahore.

Methods

This retrospective study took place at Forensic medicine and Toxicology department, KEMU, during January 2019 to December 2019. All the unknown autopsy cases of both genders brought during this period were included in the study excluding the known ones.

Results

The peak age of the deceased came out to be between 30 to 45 years with a conspicuous preponderance of males being observed in these cases (86.3%). Conduction of autopsy for majority of the cases was completed within 10 days of the reception of the unknown bodies. Natural death (76%) due to long standing systemic disease remained the major cause of death, while among the unnatural causes, head trauma stood on the top (7.5%). Financial cost calculated came out to be 5000 PKR per case. Majority of this population comprises of street dwellers and drug addicts coming from different areas.

Conclusion

Demographic characteristics like expected age, gender and cause of death could be ruled out. Addicts and street dwellers remained the top concern amongst unknown autopsy.

Keywords
Autopsy postmortem Toxicology.

How to Cite This Article

Janjua MS, Aamat-ul-Fatima A, Munawwar A, Malik AR. Critical Appraisal of Unknown Autopsies; A Retrospective Study at Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Department, KEMU, Lahore. J Pak Soc Intern Med. 2022;3(2):121–123. doi:10.70302/jpsim.v3i2.2223

⭳ Download PDF

Conflict of Interest

All authors declare no competing interests.

Disclosed in accordance with ICMJE and COPE guidelines.

Funding

No specific funding was received for this research.

Funder information follows the Crossref Funder Registry standard.

References

  1. Chattopadhyay S, Shee B, Sukul B. Unidentified bodies in autopsy–A disaster in disguise. Egypt J Forensic Sci. 2013;3(4):112-5.
  2. Ishorst-Witte F, Heinemann A, Püschel K. Morbidity and cause of death in homeless persons. Arch Kriminol. 2001;208(5-6):129-38.
  3. Friberg N, Ljungberg O, Berglund E, Berglund D, Ljungberg R, Alafuzoff I, et al. Cause of death and significant disease found at autopsy. Virchows Archiv. 2019;475(6):781-8.
  4. Lundberg GD. Medical Students, Truth, and Autopsies. JAMA. 1983;250(9):1199-200.
  5. Altun G, Yilmaz A, Azmak D. Deaths among homeless people in Istanbul. Forensic Sci Int. 1999;99(2):143-7.
  6. Yadav A, Kumar A, Swain R, Gupta SK. Five-year study of unidentified/unclaimed and unknown deaths brought for medicolegal autopsy at Premier Hospital in New Delhi, India. Medi Sci Law. 2017;57(1):33-8.
  7. Lee S-J, Park J-H, Lee Y-J, Lee B-Y, Park J-T, Kim H-S, et al. An analysis of forensic autopsies performed in the Gwangju and Jeollanam-do areas of the Republic of Korea during the past decade. Int J Clin Exp Pathol. 2018;11(12):5948.
  8. Hartveit F. Clinical and post-mortem assessment of the cause of death. J Pathol. 1977;123(4):193-210.
  9. Chambers C. Autopsy around the world. BMJ. 2007; DOI:10.1136/sbmj.070136. doi:10.1136/sbmj.070136
  10. Ritter N. Missing persons and unidentified remains: The nation’s silent mass disaster. Nat Inst Justice J. 2007;7(256); 3-7.

Reference list indexed for Google Scholar and ResearchGate. DOI links resolve via doi.org.

CC BY CC BY 4.0 This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. May be shared and adapted with attribution. © 2022 Journal of Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine.
📃 In This Issue View All
Review Article Statin Therapy in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Systematic Review Nawaz F, Cheema HA, Mehmood Y Original Article Impact of Diabetes Mellitus on Post-Operative Wound Healing in General Surgery Siddiqui FA, Noor M, Akhtar W Original Article Comparison of Ultrasound-Guided versus Landmark-Based Central Venous Catheter Insertion Zafar S, Gillani SA Original Article Cervical Cancer Screening Awareness Among Rural Women in Punjab Bibi S, Anjum R, Hassan F Review Article Thyroid Disorders in Pregnancy: Clinical Implications and Management Strategies Baig BI, Usman A
👥 More by These Authors
Original Article Neonatal Sepsis: Bacteriological Profile and Antibiogram in a Tertiary Care Hospital Iqbal M, Rashid T Original Article Serum Ferritin as a Prognostic Marker in COVID-19 Severity: A Hospital-Based Study Rehman N, Sheikh I, Javed K Original Article Prevalence of Hypertension Among Urban Adults in Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study Khan TM, Ahmed S, Malik RA Review Article Antibiotic Resistance Patterns in Community-Acquired Pneumonia: Emerging Trends Hussain I, Farooq Z
🔗 Related Articles By Keywords
Original Article Comparison of Ultrasound-Guided versus Landmark-Based Central Venous Catheter Insertion Zafar S, Gillani SA Original Article Cervical Cancer Screening Awareness Among Rural Women in Punjab Bibi S, Anjum R, Hassan F Review Article Thyroid Disorders in Pregnancy: Clinical Implications and Management Strategies Baig BI, Usman A Original Article Outcomes of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy in Acute Cholecystitis: A Retrospective Analysis Raza SH, Butt N, Qureshi AM