Study on unnatural childhood deaths presented to North Colombo Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka

Unnatural childhood deaths are not only associated with intense trauma and separation distress, but also relate to a sense of neglect to protect children from harm. Accurate information on causes and circumstances of such deaths through a process of medico-legal investigations is essential in creating an awareness among the policy makers and educators/caregivers, to prevent these tragic deaths.

The aim of the study was to determine the causes and the circumstances of unnatural deaths of children among the medico-legal autopsy population presented to North Colombo Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka.

A retrospective descriptive study was carried out based on Reports of Postmortem Examination performed in a Tertiary Care Hospital, on children who died of unnatural causes during the period from 2009 to 2011.

Out of 48 unnatural childhood deaths, 24 (50%) children were older than 10 years of age. The most frequent circumstance of death was accidental 39 (81%), while the most frequent cause of death was drowning 16 (33%). Fifteen died due to accidental drowning while one was a homicidal drowning. Suicidal deaths were found only among the children older than 16 years of age. Fifty-four percent of the accidental deaths had taken place at or around the home.

Accidents accounted for the majority (or greatest number) of tragic childhood deaths. The presence of drowning as the most common cause of death indicates that an immense responsibility lies with the parents and caregivers to prevent such deaths.