Profile of Medicolegal Deaths in Females: An Autopsy-Based Study

BACKGROUND: The rate of female medicolegal deaths (MLD) due to homicides and road traffic accidents (RTAs) is the highest in Africa, compared to the rest of the world, though there is scanty literature locally on this subject. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The major sources of information reviewed in this study were the autopsy registers and autopsy reports of the police clinic, Benin City, Edo State, over 10 years. RESULTS: A total of 331 female medicolegal autopsies were performed, accounting for 21.8% of all cases. The mean age of cases was 40.11 ± 20.25. Age group of 30–39 years accounted for 22.1% (n = 73) of cases, closely followed by the age group of 20–29 years, which accounted for 20.5% (n = 68) of cases. Accidental deaths accounted for 36.9% (n = 122) of cases. RTA was the most common cause of accidental deaths (n = 105; 86%). The most common pattern of RTA was a vehicle knocking down a pedestrian as seen in 45 cases (42.9%). The most common age group involved in RTA was 20–29 years (n = 23; 22%). For homicides, shotguns were mainly used (n = 31; 31.6%), distantly followed by those caused by the use of sharp objects (n = 17; 17.3%) and most cases belonged to the age groups of 40–49 years and 30–39 years (21.5% and 19.5%, respectively). In 5 (71.4%) cases, hanging was the method of choice for suicide. A majority of suicide victims (n = 4; 57.1%) were aged between 30 and 39 years, with an average age of 36.3. Diseases of the cardiovascular system accounted for 41.8% (n = 41) of cases, whereas pregnancy-associated deaths (excluding criminal abortions) accounted for 29.6% (n = 29) of cases in the natural causes group. Preeclampsia/eclampsia (n = 9; 31%) followed by postpartum hemorrhage (n = 8; 27.6%) were the leading causes of maternal deaths. CONCLUSION: There is a need to provide basic infrastructure, formulate policies, and implement them, to reduce female MLD, which a significant number of them are preventable.