Mortality pattern according to autopsy findings among traffic accident victims in Yazd, Iran

Objective： To describe mortality pattern and to determine undiagnosed fatal injuries according to autopsy findings among road traffic accident victims in Yazd, Iran. Methods： In this retrospective study, 251 victims of road traffic accidents who were admitted to a tertiary trauma hospital over a two-year period （2006 and 2007） and received medical cares were included. Hospital records were reviewed to gather demographic characteristics, road user type, and medical data. Autopsy records were also reviewed to determine actual causes of death and possible undiagnosed injuries occurred in the initial assessment of the emergency unit or during hospitalization. Results： There were 202 males （80.5%） and 49 females （19.5%）. The mean （＋SD） age of fatalities was 34.1 （＋21.5） years. Pedestrian-vehicle accidents were the most common cause of trauma （100 cases, 39.8%）. The most common cause of death was central nervous system injury （146 cases, 58.1%）. The other causes were skull base fractures （10%）, internalbleeding （8%）, lower limb hemorrhage （8%）, skull vault fractures （4%）, cervical spinal cord injury （3.6%）, airway compromise （3.2%）, and multifactor cases （5.1%）, respectively. Thirty-six fatal injuries in 30 victims （12%） mainly contributed to death according to autopsy, but were not diagnosed in initial assessments. The head （72.2%） and cervical spine （13.8%） regions were the two most common sites for undi- agnosed injuries. Conclusion： Training courses for emergency unit medical staff with regard to interpreting radiological findings of head and neck and high clinical suspicion for cervical spine injuries are essential to improve the quality of early hospital care and reduce the mortality and morbidity of traffic accident patients.

Iraq-lran chemical war： calendar, mortality and morbidity

Objectives： To review the calendar, mortality and morbidity of Iraq-Iran chemical war among Iranians based on researchers＇ reports. Methods： We used national and international databanks such as PubMed, ISI, Scopus, Irandoc and Iranmedex and studied 350 articles related to chemical agents and their effects on different organs. The main criteria for qualification of articles were relevancy orientation and being published in approved medical journals. Results： The Iraqi army invaded to west and southwest Iran using chemical weapons such as nerve agents （NAs） and sulfur mustard （SM）. Most victims were civilians including women and children. These attacks had imposed more than 150 types of diseases and complications on Iranians and the frequency of death was 2%-3%. Most reports were about respiratory problems and a few were in the domain of socio-economic damages Conclusion： At present, 25 years after me end of war, the victims are faced with different complications induced by chemical agents and it is estimated that they will be continuously troubled by these problems in future.