Deaths due to locomotive injuries in Jaffna district- eight-year retrospective study are we prepared to change our attitude?

Abstract

Railway-related fatalities were rising and reported throughout the year. Reckless behavior and using the train as a suicide tool are the primary cause of these tragic deaths.A retrospective descriptive study based on decedents of locomotive trauma was carried out at the JMO office, Jaffna, from January 2015 to January 2022.Thirty decedents were included in this study. Among them, twenty-nine were male, and the age of the individuals ranged from 16 to 73 years. Fifty-seven percent(n=17) of them were between 20 to 40 years. Most were married (57%. n=17) and unemployed (57%, n=17). There were 20(67%) accidents, 09(30%) suicides, and manner could not be ascertained in one (03%) death. Among the accidental deaths, 60%(n=12) were due to vehicle-train collisions, and 80%(n=16) of the deaths occurred at railway crossings. Most (67%, n=06) of the suicidal deaths happened alongside the railway track, away from stations, or rail crossings. All the decedents in both accidents (100%, n=20) and suicides (100%, n=09) had lacerations over the head and neck area. Hundred percent (n=20) of accident cases sustained fractures of the head and neck, 33% (n=03) One (10%) case of decapitation was noted in the self-harmed group. Over the chest region, more than 50% of the deaths had fractures in both accidents (80%, n=16) and suicides (56%, n=05). One (10%) case of transection of the body at the level of the chest was seen in a suicide case. Transection of the body at the level of the abdomen was seen in the accident (05%, n=01) and suicide (10%, n=01). The distribution and nature of injuries were almost identical in both upper and lower limbs. The brain is the internal organ that is primarily affected in both accidents (90%, n=19) and suicides (78%, n=07). In eighty percent (n=24) of the cases cause of death has been determined as craniocerebral injuries, while in 20% (n=06) of the cases, multiple injuries were given as the cause of death.The majority of railroad deaths were accidental. Transections of the neck and chest were commoner in suicides than in accidents. The nature of external injuries and internal organ damage were not showing a significant difference in accidents and suicides.