Study of Postmortem Cases to Establish the Mortality Patterns in Aurangabad district of Marathwada Region; A Short Communication

Death is serious tragedy, whatever be the occasion, in whatsoever form and the way it occurs. The study of death trends is an important parameter to know the cause of deaths among the population of particular area. Each place has it's own cause and pattern due to variable reasons. Death records can also provide information regarding fatality rates, age and sex distribution, which are of enormous importance in planning health care services and help in building rugged strategy to minimize the possible un-natural deaths in future.

The present study was undertaken as an initial step to meet the sole objective of finding the mortality trends in population of Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, by studying post-mortem (PM) records conducted at Govt. Hospital and Medical College, Aurangabad. 1745 PM records were collected and studied. It was observed that RTA (Road traffic accident) was the foremost cause of death, followed by deaths due to burns and poisoning. Predominance of males (69.5%), as compared to females, (29.5%) was found in the total autopsy samples studied. Deceased individuals in the age group of 21–30 years were highest (27.1%) and it was least in the age group of 91–100 years (0.1%).

This study indicates that the major cause of fatalities taking place in this region of the state is the lack of awareness of traffic rules, carelessness in the handling of flammable liquids, common and abrupt use of easily available agricultural poisons, etc. Further data in other regions of the state needs to be explored with respect to the years, sex, age group and cause.