Volume : VIII, Issue : I, January - 2018

Prevalence of Tuberculosis : Study in Forensic Autopsy

Dr Sudha A Jain, Dr Rina Lathia, Dr Gunjan Jain

Abstract :

 

Background: Tuberculosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. There are many cases of tuberculosis which remain undiagnosed and are diagnosed only after death.Aim:This study was done to determine the prevalence of tuberculosis in undiagnosed/ unexpected death. So as to ascertain the proportion of case which were not diagnosed during life or not expected.Materials and Methods:This retrospective study was conducted  on cases ought for forensic autopsy in department of Pathology , SMIMER , a  tertiary care medical centre from the year August 2011 to July 2017. The ief history, post–mortem findings, histopathological findings & identification of mycobacterium bacilli after special stain were done. All histopathologically confirmed cases of sudden death due to tuberculosis were included in the study. Results:Out of the total 2971 autopsies, 117 cases had findings of tuberculosis. Males outnumbered females, and the highest number of tuberculosis cases were observed in males in the age–groups of 31 to 40 years (30.77%). Tuberculosis as to be the primary cause of death was observed in 3.93% of the cases. There  were 35% cases of disseminated/extra pulmonary tuberculosis & miliary tuberculosis was seen in 25.6% of the cases.Conclusion:The chance finding of tuberculosis in forensic autopsy cases in this study highlights that there are undiagnosed cases of active tuberculosis who are not seeking proper medical attention and these cases may pose as a source of transmission to the general public, health–care providers and mortuary staff. So awareness of tuberculosis is essential for minimising missed diagnosis.

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Article: Download PDF   DOI : 10.36106/ijar  

Cite This Article:

Dr Sudha A Jain, Dr Rina Lathia, Dr Gunjan Jain, Prevalence of Tuberculosis : Study in Forensic Autopsy, INDIAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH : Volume-8 | Issue-1 | January-2018

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