Dept. of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Govt. Medical College Hospital, Chandigarh.
Pelvic fractures are frequent complications of vehicular accidents and vehicular accidents are the commonest cause of pelvic fractures. Although these fractures are associated with considerable morbidity and mortality, generally. no attempt is made to grade/classify pelvic fractures at the time of postmortem examination.
The authors conducted a retrospective study of cases autopsied at the Dept. of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology. Govt. Medical College Hospital, Chandigarh from 1996 to 2001, reviewing the x-ray reports and the autopsy findings. The radiographs were examined for the presence and Tile typing of pelvic fractures, Pelvic fractures were found in 107 of a total of 632 cases (16.9%) of vehicular accidents, however, they were solely responsible for death of the individuals in only 48 (07.6%) cases. In most of these, 89 (83.2%), the pelvic fracture was readily classified according to the Tile type on the basis of x-rays and the probable mechanism of injury. It was also observed that ‘more rapidly fatal the accident, more severe the pelvic fractures’, The Tile classification system is easy to apply and has important implications in the comparison of various study groups.
