Journal of clinical forensic medicine
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J Clin Forensic Med · Sep 2003
Spectrum of unnatural fatalities in the Chandigarh zone of north-west India--a 25 year autopsy study from a tertiary care hospital.
A 25 year (1977-2002) autopsy study of 5933 unnatural fatalities from a tertiary care hospital of north-west India revealed an abrupt rise in unnatural deaths (3050; 51.4%) since 1997. 84.2% subjects were between the age group of 16 and 45. Accidental deaths (79.3%) constituted the majority of unnatural fatalities followed by suicidal (13.9%) and homicidal (6%) deaths. Road traffic accidents (RTAs), burn, poisoning, accidental falls from height and firearm injury were responsible for 94.5% of the total unnatural deaths. ⋯ Between 1977 and 1987 barbiturates (33.3%), organophosphates (23.8%) and copper sulphate (14.3%) and in 1987-1997 organophosphates (45%) and aluminium phosphide (26.5%) were the major fatal poisons. Since 1992 aluminium phosphide (80%), a fumigant pesticide used for wheat preservation was the most common poison. The incidence of suicidal deaths increased from 10.9% (1987-1992) to 15.7% (1997-2002) with a peak incidence of 18.2% in 1992-1997, when this pesticide with no effective antidote was made freely available in the market.
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A 4-6-week-old male bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) was found freshly dead on a beach. He belonged to a nearby dolphin group that was known to have considerable curiosity about human activity and to frequently approach pleasure craft. ⋯ Careful assessment of the wounds indicated that the blade of the weapon had been at least 190 mm in length and 22 mm in width, with a single edge. This report demonstrates that standard forensic techniques may be extremely useful in determining the cause of death in animals, in documenting injuries to assist in the investigation of such cases, and in providing facts to aid in the successful prosecution of those guilty of killing or injuring animals.
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J Clin Forensic Med · Sep 1994
The extent of injecting and syringe sharing in prison reported by Edinburgh drug clinic attenders.
68 outpatient attenders at Edinburgh's Community Drug Problem Service who reported a history of drug injecting and who had spent 1 week or more in prison between March 1987-March 1990 were interviewed about drug injecting behaviour and syringe sharing before and during each prison episode they reported. One-third of those injecting prior to prison continued to do so in prison, most doing so twice weekly or more. 80% of prison injectors shared syringes in prison. No subjects commenced their injecting career in prison, and being imprisoned did not cause past injectors who had stopped to resume injecting in custody. ⋯ Half of prison sharers used unofficially acquired bleach or disinfectant to sterilise injecting equipment. Continuing involvement with the courts and thus risk of reimprisonment was common. The findings support the case for harm reduction policies in Scottish prisons, and diversion from custody and into treatment for this high risk group.