Pattern of chest injuries in road traffic incident victims: a six-year retrospective study

Introduction: The young are the most common victims of trauma and trauma is the leading cause of death in the first four decades of life. Injury accounts for more than 50% of deaths in children and is the third leading cause of death after cancer and atherosclerosis in all age groups. Thoracic trauma is one of the leading causes of death in all age groups and accounts for 25-50% of all traumatic injuries in the world. Material and methods: In this retrospective study, fatal cases of thoracic trauma autopsied during the period 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2009 were analysed at the Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, JN Medical College, Belgaum, Karnataka. Results and discussion: In the present study, 67.8% of victims were 40 years old or younger. Women were less involved than men, with a ratio of 1:2.2. Conclusion: Further establishment of 'hi-tech trauma centres' at each district level is the present need.