Journal List > Korean J Leg Med > v.43(2) > 1126527

Lee, Choi, Won, Park, Choi, Seo, Kim, Choi, Kang, Aum, Kim, Kim, Kim, Park, Yang, and Choi: Statistical Analysis of Postmortem Inspection Cases of the National Forensic Service Seoul Institute in 2017

Abstract

This study provides a statistical analysis of 1,226 cases of death occurring in Area 8, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (Gangseo, Yangcheon, and Guro Police Stations) from January 1 to December 31, 2017. There were 427 postmortem inspection cases in Gangseo, 393 in Yangcheon, 377 in Guro, and 29 in other areas. The number of autopsy cases was 69 in Gangseo, 70 in Yangcheon, 86 in Guro, and seven in other areas. According to the postmortem inspection reports, there were 593 cases of natural death and 336 cases of unnatural death, while in 297 cases the cause of death was unknown. Of the 297 unknown cases, autopsy rates from each police station were as follows: 54 of 99 cases (54.5%) in Gangseo, 60 of 101 cases (59.4%) in Yangcheon, 67 of 93 cases (72.0%) in Guro, and in all four cases (100%) from other areas. Unnatural deaths included 215 cases of suicide, nine cases of homicide, and 64 accidental death, while 48 cases were undetermined. Among the unnatural deaths, the cause of death included 138 cases of hanging, 72 cases of falls from a height, and 32 cases of poisoning. Since this statistical study is based on actual postmortem inspection data for 1,226 cases of death in the eight areas of Seoul (excluding deaths from traffic accidents), it raises issues relating to the current postmortem inspection system, and can be used as reference material for a comprehensive overview of causes of death.

Figures and Tables

Table 1

Number of postmortem inspection cases from 2015 to 2017

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Table 2

Number of postmortem inspection cases in 2017

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Values are presented as number (%).

Table 3

Number of autopsy cases in 2017 (total 1,226 cases)

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Values are presented as number (%).

Table 4

Autopsy rates in the cases of unknown

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Table 5

Males and females ratio

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Values are presented as number (%).

Table 6

Number for age and autopsy rate

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Values are presented as number (%).

Table 7

Number for each manner of death

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Values are presented as number (%).

Table 8

Autopsy rates in the cases of handing, fall from height, and poisoning

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Values are presented as number (%).

Table 9

Place of death and postmortem inspection

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Values are presented as number (%).

Acknowledgments

Authors thanks to Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and especially to Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency 8 Wide Area Crime Scene Investigation Team.
This research was supported by a grant for Development of Scientific investigation funded by the National Forensic Service (2018-Forensic Medicine-03).

Notes

Conflicts of Interest No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

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ORCID iDs

Young Man Lee
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5040-7798

Minsung Choi
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7798-9799

Duk Hoon Kim
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8333-5508

Kyung-moo Yang
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7807-8084

Young Shik Choi
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5564-5277

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