Profile of postmortem cases conducted at a morgue of a tertiary care hospital in Kolkata.

A record based cross-sectional study of postmortems performed at the mortuary attached to the forensic medicine and toxicology department of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital from March 2008 to February 2009 comprising 1900 cases was conducted to determine the sociodemographic profile and to assess the nature and cause of such deaths. Bodies of 5 foetuses were decomposed which were excluded from the study. Out of a total of 1895 postmortems analysed, 23 autopsies were performed of limbs where the subjects were alive. Out of 1872 cases in 325 (17.4%) the manner of death was natural, whereas in 1547 cases (82.6%) it was unnatural. Accidents, suicides, homicides and undetermined deaths were 63.1%, 29.8%, 2.8% and 4.3% respectively. Among the natural deaths, evidence of pulmonary tuberculosis and coronary heart disease was found in 141 (43.4%) and 124 (38.2%) cases respectively. Burn injuries (22.6%) were the most common cause of unnatural deaths and occurred in 77.4% females. Rail track injuries and road traffic injuries were responsible for 21.9% and 14% of unnatural deaths. Hanging, poisoning and self-immolation were responsible for 48.4%, 28.9% and 19.7% of suicidal deaths respectively.