Silhoutte of Deaths In Connection With Fatal Fall from Height Injuries

As medicolegal consultant, we often encounter cases of fall from height related deaths which are invariably subjected to medicolegal autopsy and the numbers are gradually increasing day by day. During the study period of three years data were collected by using a pre-tested structured proforma, police inquest reports, hospital records and thorough medicolegal autopsy done at Chittagong Medical College Mortuary. This retrospective autopsy based study revealed 175 cases of fall from height casualties out of the total 2850 autopsies. We observed that the age group of 41-50 years i.e. 55 cases were mostly affected followed by 31-40 years i.e. in 40 cases. Males (144) were the main sufferers than the females (31). Maximum victims were construction workers 57 cases (32.57%) followed by 45 factory workers (25.71%). Construction sites were the main place of fall i.e. in 57 cases (32.57%) followed by working places 46 cases (26.28%). Most of the victims had head-neck injuries i.e. in 143 cases (81.71%) followed by thoracic injury 82 cases (46.85%). Multiple injuries i.e. in 92 cases (52.57%) were the main cause of death followed by head-neck injuries in 79 cases (45.14%). These casualties are definitely preventable by adopting safety measures and by educating the workers in the factories and construction sites.

Ship Breaking Workers and Their Pattern of Work-Related Respiratory Problems: A Cross-sectional Study at Sitakunda Ship Breaking Industrial Area of Bangladesh

A cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2019 to August 2019 to determine the pattern of work-related respiratory problems among workers in ship breaking industry at Sitakunda, Chittagong, Bangladesh as many unskilled and semiskilled worker are working there without having minimum knowledge and idea about the possible adverse health effect of different pollutants which also pose threats to the ambient environment. Total 120 male respondents were selected purposively. Majority 80.8% (97) of the workers were below 30 years. About 71.0% (85) respondents were working for less than five years. Majority of respondents worked 8 hours daily. Most of them worked each of the days in a week. About 66.0% (80) had smoking habit. Among 120 respondents, 95.8% (115) had no previous respiratory problem. But 63.3% (76) felt that their respiratory problems were increasing day by day due to current job (ship breaking). There were 85.0% (102) respondents who felt cold or sneeze mostly in working place. About 80.0% (96) of respondents felt better during holiday. There were different respiratory symptoms among the respondents like nasal irritation, hoarseness of voice, cough during cold, cough without cold, bringing up phlegm when catch cold, bringing up phlegm without cold, tightness of chest where the prevalence was 54.2% (65), 85.0% (102), 93.3% (112), 28.3% (34), 70.0% (84), 39.0% (27) and 67.5% (81) respectively among the workers. Majority respondents 96.7% (116) were conscious about using PPE. Only 17.5% (21) used mask during work. Different pulmonary lung function test like forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), FEV1%, peak expiratory flow rate (PFER) was done. Mean of FVC, FEV1 was 3.76 and 1.09 respectively. According to pulmonary statuses of workers as per spirometric findings 20.83% (25) had normal pulmonary function, 58.33% (45) had obstruction and 20.83% (25) had combined obstructive parameters. So in light of the study it is clear that the work organization has not developed in this particular industry. In every steps of their work ship breaking workers are facing violations of industrial codes which correspond with safe working environment. In long run the workers have to pay with their health and life about which they are unaware.

Forensic Profiling of Cut Throat Wounds

This study was conducted to reveal the causative factors and injury pattern of cut throat wounds. This is a retrospective study of three years done at Chattogram Medical College Morgue House from January 2014 to December 2016. This study revealed 106 cases of cut throat wounds out of the total 7300 medico-legal autopsies of which most of the victims were male (74 cases) whereas females were 32. The most affected age group was 21-30 years (both male & female) i.e. 47 cases (44.33%). Homicides in 91 cases were the prime manner of death followed by suicide 13 and 2 accidental cases. Associated injuries were found in 70 cases out of the total 106 cases of cut throat wound. Haemorrhage was the main cause of death in 58 cases (54.71%) followed by air embolism (19 cases), other causes (15 cases) and asphyxia from aspirated blood in 14 cases. Fields were the mostly observed places of occurrence i.e. in 61 cases (57.54%) followed by outside house (18 cases), within the house (11 cases), public place (10 cases) and working place (6 cases). Criminal gang violence were the predominant motivational factors i.e. in 48 cases (45.28%) followed by robbery (26 cases), love or relationship (17 cases), domestic violence (9 cases) and financial hardship in 6 cases. Butcher's knives were the most commonly used weapon i.e. in 69 cases (65.09%) followed by kitchen knives (24 cases), ramda (8 cases) and axe in 5 cases.

Improved and Traditional Biofuel Cookstoves and Respiratory Symptoms among Women in Bangladesh: A Comparative Study

Indoor air pollution from biomass smoke is now regarded as public health hazard in the developing world, where more than two billion people still rely on the use of solid biomass fuels, which have been shown to produce substantial health-damaging pollutants. Improved cook stove (ICS) reduces indoor air pollution and its health hazards. The aim of the study was to compare the respiratory symptoms between Traditional and Improved Biofuel Cookstove users in rural Bangladesh and to find out that Improved Cookstoves (ICS) users are at lower risk of respiratory symptoms than Traditional Cookstoves (TCS) users. A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted through face to face interview of 78 women using ICS and 115 women using TCS. Majority of the respondents were in the age group of 20-39 years. About 58% ICS users and 66% TCS users were illiterate. Almost 100% of the respondents were wife of household head who were the prime cook. 49% of ICS users and 30% of TCS users had been cooking for 3-4 hours everyday. Most of the households in the study area relied on biofuels (wood, scavenged twigs and grasses, dry leaves, dung and crop residues). It was found that about 28% of the prime cooks in ICS users' households and about 53% of the prime cooks in TCS users' households had been suffering from different respiratory problems at the time of survey. Among the prime cooks who had been suffering from respiratory diseases, about 2% of ICS users and 25% of TCS users had been suffering from morning cough, about 3% if ICS users and 6% of TCS users had been suffering from chest tightness. About 4% in ICS users' and about 14% in TCS users' had complaints of wheezing with dyspnoea; about 2% in ICS users' and about 24% in TCS users' had been suffering from nasal allergy and about 7% in TCS users' and nobody in ICS users' had been suffering from cough for more than 3 months. Statistical tests of significance clearly indicate that significantly more prime cooks in the TCS users' reported respiratory symptoms than prime cooks in ICS users' households.