Sudden natural deaths in medicolegal autopsies in Imphal

Introduction: A suspicion of foul play is raised when a healthy person without any significant past history of illness is found dead. The present study was carried out to find out the incidence and causes of sudden natural deaths in cases brought for medicolegal autopsies. Materials & Methods: A retrospective study on cases of natural deaths brought for medicolegal autopsies during the five year period of 2012 to 2016 to our centre was conducted to find out the incidence, demographic profile and causes of death in such cases. The detailed case history, police records, hospital records, if available, and post-mortem examination reports were studied. The findings were statistically analysed using descriptive statistics to find out the mean, percentage and frequencies. Results: Out of the 1321 medicolegal autopsies brought during the period, 121 (9.2%) were cases of natural deaths, involving 110 males and 11 females with a M:F ratio of 10:1. The highest number of cases was observed in the age group of 31-50 years (57.85%). Interestingly, 66.9% of the cases had external injuries which were trivial in nature. The commonest cause of death was cardiovascular system diseases (41.32%), of which 90% were due to coronary insufficiency. Other causes include respiratory system diseases (21.62%), gastrointestinal /hepatic diseases (9.01%), central nervous system diseases (6.6%), genito-urinary system diseases (3.3%) respectively. Conclusion: Cardiovascular system disease, especially coronary insufficiency, is a common cause of sudden natural deaths in this part of the country. Awareness of routine health check-up amongst the general public would help in reducing the incidence of such deaths. A meticulous post-mortem examination always helps in avoiding unnecessary litigations in such cases.