Profile of Unnatural Deaths Among Children: A Five Year Retrospective Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Haryana, India

Any unnatural death among children is a worrying issue in any society. The present study describes the profile of unnatural deaths in children at a tertiary care hospital in Northern Haryana, India. This retrospective study evaluated 48 autopsy cases from January 2019 to December 2023 of unnatural deaths among various age groups from infants to 18 years of age. The postmortem examination reports, police inquests, and other available hospital and investigation records were used for data collection. Male predominance was observed with 33 (68.7%) cases. According to age group (in years), most deaths, 19 (39.6%), were observed in 16–18, followed by 13 (27.1%) deaths in 13–15, and the least, two (4.2%) in 10–12. The frequent manner of death was accidental deaths, 36 (75%), and the remaining were suicides, 12 (25%) deaths. No homicidal deaths were found among the children in this study. Road traffic accidents, 13 (27%) deaths, followed by nine (18.8%) deaths due to drowning, and eight (16.7%) deaths due to hanging were the major modes of these deaths. The major cause of death was asphyxia in 18 (37.5%), followed by head injury in 13 (27%). This study highlights significant patterns of unnatural child deaths according to their modes, manner, and causes. To reflect upon the magnitude of the occurrence of unnatural child deaths, maintenance of the medicolegal case register and further studies to determine the pattern of child deaths in other regions of India is essential.