Profile of Autopsy Cases at Government Medical College Kanpur: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

 Background: The profiling of medico-legal cases is imperative in order to avert preventable casualties in the future 
and to analyze the authentic crime rate within a specific region. Presently, road traffic accidents are the primary 
cause of casualties, resulting in numerous fatalities. Objective: The objective is to establish a comprehensive profile 
of deaths caused by either natural or unnatural factors, thereby enabling us to channel rigorous efforts towards 
mitigating their occurrence. 
Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the mortality cases subjected to medico-legal 
postmortem examination at the Mortuary, Government Medical College, Kanpur, U.P., India, during the year 
2022. Throughout this duration, a total of 2326 autopsy cases were conducted. 
Results: October had the highest number of autopsy cases. Males accounted for 63.23% of cases, with most falling 
in the 21-30 age group. Injury-related deaths were the largest proportion (47.36%), followed by natural deaths 
(19.93%), violent asphyxial deaths (10.48%), thermal injuries (9.89%), and poisoning (9.04%). 
Conclusion: The analysis reveals that road traffic accidents are the most common cause of death, potentially due 
to the increased frequency of transportation. Specifically, vehicular accidents resulting in head injuries were the 
leading cause of death.