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Background: Patients who are admitted to government hospitals without any personal, family, or identification details are categorized as unknown patients or unidentified patients or destitute patients. Managing unknown patients pose unique challenges in developing countries, particularly in India, where there are significant medicolegal issues, humanitarian concerns, and treatment and rehabilitation challenges. Aims and Objectives: Our study aims to investigate the demographic characteristics and outcomes of unidentified patients in our health-care facility and to evaluate the quality of care provided to them with the intention of enhancing it. Materials and Methods: It is a prospective study conducted in the Department of Neurosurgery, Jayarogya Hospital, Gajra Raja Medical College, Gwalior, India, which is a tertiary care center. The study was conducted for a duration of 2 years between April 2021 and March 2023 in which 50 patients of traumatic brain injury (TBI) whose identity was unknown at the time of admission were analyzed. Results: Out of the 50 TBI patients with unknown identities, 21 patients survived while 29 patients died as a result of their injuries. Among the 38 patients who were managed conservatively, 17 patients survived while 21 patients died. Of the 12 patients who underwent surgery, 4 survived while 8 patients died. The stable patients who were transferred to other departments were discharged to their homes. Conclusion: Our study highlights the high mortality risk associated with unknown TBI patients. Due to the lack of crucial details about the traumatic event and the absence of a family support system, managing these patients are more challenging, and relevant health information is often unavailable. Improvements in identifying unknown victims are necessary, and resources must be allocated to address this challenging situation properly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a public awareness campaign on the vascular complications of road traffic accidents, specifically focusing on the importance of wearing a helmet to prevent vision problems. The author highlights the success of previous campaigns, such as the promotion of milk over soft drinks and the national program for eye donation in India. The article also emphasizes the need to educate the public about treatment options in the field of interventional radiology, particularly for conditions like carotid cavernous fistula (CCF) that can result from trauma. The author shares a personal experience treating patients with CCF and emphasizes the importance of raising awareness about the vascular problems that can occur after trauma. The article concludes by emphasizing the role of the medical community in raising awareness and guiding the public towards positive outcomes. [Extracted from the article]

Background/problem: Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of injury and death in the productive age group. Twowheeler riders accounted for nearly half of fatal and nonfatal injuries. Head injury is the most common cause of death among them, which can be reduced by the appropriate use of the helmet. Though there was a law about the compulsory wearing of a helmet in the state, it was never enforced in the district and helmet usage rate in a district before the campaign varied from 1% to 5%. Methods: ‘Helmethon’, a unique multi-faceted Campaign in the district of India was carried out for a period of three months in the year 2015 to promote helmet for prevention of head injuries. The campaign targeted the general public with a special focus on youth and stakeholders, who are responsible for enforcement of helmet legislation. Results: Campaign was successful in sensitizing the community and drawing the stakeholder’s attention towards the importance of preventing head injuries through enforcement of helmet law. The law was enforced in Tumkur district in less than a fortnight following the campaign and helmet usage rate among riders soon after enforcement had increased to 80% from a mere 1%. Conclusion: A well planned and committed helmet campaign shall sensitize the community regarding helmet safety and encourages them to use it. It also influences stakeholders to enforce the helmet law with the least resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a neurological disorder which represents a major health issue worldwide. It causes mortality and disability among all group ages, caused by external force, sports-related events or violence and road traffic accidents. In the USA, approximately one-third people die annually due to injury and 1.7 million people suffer from traumatic brain injury. Every year in India around 1.6 million individuals suffer from sustain brain injury with 200,000 deaths and approximately one million person needed recovery treatment at any stage of time. Sports-related head impact and trauma has become an extremely controversial public health and medico-legal problem that accounts for 20% of all brain injury (including concussion). It is difficult to reverse the primary injury but the secondary injury can be minimized by using proper pharmacological intervention during the initial hours of injury. This article highlights the pathophysiology and types of TBI along with treatment therapies. Till date, there is no single medication that can decrease the progression of the disease so that symptomatic treatment is given to the patient by determining proper pathology. Recently various herbal medicine therapies and traditional supplements have been developed for TBI. Nutritional supplementation and nutraceuticals have exposed potential in the treatment of TBI when used before and after TBI. The compiled data will enable the readers to know the pathophysiology as well as the allopathic and natural remedies to treat the TBI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Occupational hazards at the building construction workplace are enormous. Good compliance to the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) alongside other safety measures is critical in reducing the hazards. Occupational hearing loss is one such occupational hazard among construction workers. Aims: This study was conducted for determining the awareness of the benefits of PPE and its usage among construction workers along with hearing assessment. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted among construction workers in a building project in Mangaluru city in Dakshina Kannada district in South India. Methods and Material: After obtaining informed written consent, 110 construction workers were recruited by simple random sampling method. Basic information, awareness, and use of PPE were collected using a semistructured questionnaire through personal interviews. Hearing assessment was done by pure tone audiometry. Statistical Analysis Used: Data collected was analyzed. Chi-square test and Fischer's exact probability test were used to test the association between variables. Results: Majority (85.5%) of the construction workers are working for duration of 15 years or less. Difficulty in hearing was reported by 9.6% of them. Awareness regarding benefits of using personal protective devices like helmets, masks, and earplugs/muffs were 58.2%, 56.4%, and 14.5%, respectively. The utilization of at least one PPE among them was 58.1%. The presence of sensory neural hearing loss (SNHL) in both/either ears was detected among 14.5% of the workers. There was a statistically significant association of SNHL among workers and their duration of construction work. Conclusion: The current study highlights that awareness and usage of PPE was low and a proportion of them had a hearing impairment. Occupational health and safety training along with a periodic examination of construction workers need to be focused so as to detect and manage occupational health hazards early. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The horned helmet Cassis cornuta (Linnaeus 1758) is the largest of all helmet shells belonging to the family Cassidae. In India, C. cornuta is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (Schedule- I, Part IV-B) due to its conservation importance. Also, it is one of the most sought after tropical marine molluscs in illegal trading. In the present study, we have performed DNA barcoding for this species using the mitochondrial marker gene, cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI), and deposited the data at GenBank (accession no. MK878541). The evolutionary history was inferred adopting the maximum likelihood method and Kimura 2-parameter model by encompassing representative organisms belonging to the genus Cassis. As C. cornuta is in great demand among shell collectors and is illegally traded across countries, the DNA barcode data available in the public database would provide an additional checkpoint in reducing the chance of unlawful trade of this shell. Further, it strengthens conservation management practices, particularly at the port of entries where portable DNA barcoding facilities are in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road Traffic Accident (RTA) is a public health concern globally. Rapid urbanisation and increase in the number of motor vehicles, lack of discipline and violation of traffic regulations has led to a rapid rise in the deaths in vulnerable road users. A retrospective study was undertaken in the autopsy centre of a tertiary care hospital to observe the pattern and trends of deaths between 2013-2018 due to RTAs. Out of 248 RTA cases analysed in this study, 75.4% were male and 24.6% were female. The most vulnerable age group was 21-40 years in both two-wheeler and four-wheeler accidents while in pedestrians it was 41-50 years. High rate of accidents was seen during summer in afternoon in cases of pedestrians as well as motor vehicle occupants and in the evening after 6 PM in two-wheeler motorcyclists. Observation of the pattern of head injuries showed fracture of the skull was a common occurrence in two and four-wheeler accidents whereas a greater number of pedestrians reported no skull fracture. Non helmet users suffered higher mortality in the age group of 21-30 years. Subdural haemorrhage caused maximum deaths in two-wheeler motorcyclists and pedestrians while sub arachnoid haemorrhage was seen in four-wheeler accidents. Our study agreed with the WHO report of 2018 and various other studies from India and abroad. Increased number of fatalities was found to occur at a particular time of the day with seasonal preference. Two-wheeler motorcyclists without a helmet suffered maximum deaths. Real time analysis of data in various parts of the country would help in ensuring safe road user practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In India, road traffic injuries are one of the top four leading causes of death and health loss among persons of age group 15-49 years. The share of two wheelers in total road accidents has increased from 28.8% in 2015 to 33.8% in 2016. Out of total of 52,500 two wheeler riders killed in road accidents during the calendar year 2016, 10,135 two-wheeler riders (19.3%) were reported to be not wearing helmets. Aims: Mandatory helmet usage law was enforced in January 2016 for both riders and pillions in Bangalore. Settings and Design: Randomly selected Traffic Junctions of Bangalore city, Karnataka, India. Purposive sampling technique was used to obtain the helmet usage among two wheeler users. Method and Materials: It is a cross sectional study, where 1471 two wheeler riders, pillions were observed at selected 6 traffic junctions using an observation checklist with different intervals of the time in weekdays and weekends. Information regarding socio demographic details and helmet compliance will be collected. Results: In observational survey 1471 two wheeler users were observed at the 6 selected traffic junctions, among riders (82.18%),pillions (72.82%) wore helmet. Helmet usage (riders-87.64%) (pillions-76.03%) in inner city junction and in outer ring road junction (riders-74.88%) (pillions-55.12%) respectively. helmet usage in weekdays was 6% more than in weekends among riders. Conclusion: Nearly 20% of riders and 30%of pillions were not wearing helmets. Compliance to ISI (Indian Standard) helmets and buckling of the helmets was poor in both the users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Assessment of helmet usage among the two wheeler users. Method: It is a cross sectional study, where 1471 two wheeler riders, pillions were observed at randomly selected 6 traffic junctions using an observation checklist with different intervals of the time in weekdays and weekends. Results: In observational survey 1471 two wheeler users were observed at the 6 selected traffic junctions, among riders (82.18%),pillions (72.82%) wore helmet. the helmet usage in weekdays was 6% more than in weekends among riders. Conclusion: Nearly 20% of riders and 30%of pillions were not wearied helmets. Compliance to ISI (Indian Standard) helmets and buckling of the helmets was poor in both the users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It has been reported that 20%–60% of all people injured in road traffic accidents (RTAs) tend to have some form of maxillofacial injury. Mangalore city, Karnataka State, India, traffic police has enforced the law to wear helmets to tackle the problem. The outcome of the initiative till date was not measured. Therefore, the objective of the study was to assess the prevalence of maxillofacial injuries among the victims of motorized two-wheeler RTAs, following the passing of the helmet law. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted at the Accident and Emergency Department of K.S. Hegde Medical College and Hospital and at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, A.B. Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, Nitte (Deemed to be University), Mangalore, Karnataka, India. The inclusion criteria were the patients who had two-wheeler accidents during the time period of 2016–2017 was collected. The data related to age, gender, helmet wearing, diagnosis, and type of orthopedic injuries was included. A descriptive statistics was calculated along with 95% confidence interval; correlation coefficient and odds ratio using STATA software. Results: A total of N = 347 individuals were included in the study. The mean age of the individuals was 33.7 (2–85) years, and the median age was 32 years. 81.55% (N = 283) were male and 18.44% (N = 64) were female. Among the individuals, 51.5% (N = 179) were not wearing helmets and 44.38% (N = 154) of them were males. A total of 25.07 (N = 87) individuals had orthopedic injuries and 16.42% (N = 57) individuals had orthopedic injuries who were not wearing helmets. Conclusion: Under the limitations of the study, we conclude that majority of the two-wheelers are not wearing helmets. This study has demonstrated that the impact of wearing helmet on occurrence of craniofacial and orthopedic injuries is less. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction The frequency of traffic collisions in India is among the highest in the world with more than 135,000 traffic collision-related deaths occurring every year. The "Global Status Report on Road Safety" listed by the World Health Organization identified the major causes of injury as driving over the speed limit, driving under the influence, and not using helmets and seat belts. Women face unique challenges after traumatic brain injury, due to differential laws and their enforcement. Objectives To assess the use of helmet among female hospital workers (nurses, hospital attendants, sanitary attendants, and security guards) and their attitude toward helmet wearing. Methods Purposive sampling was done among female two-wheeler-riding hospital workers. A questionnaire was developed to study the use of helmet and an attitude Likert scale for assessing attitude toward wearing helmet. Data were collected, coded, and analyzed using SPSS software version 21. Results Of the total 89 women enrolled, 46.4% were mostly pillion riders, and 33% were mostly drivers. Only 19% were using helmet consistently, despite 93% owning it. Eighty-eight percent of the regular users were younger than 25 years, while 80% of the non-users were above 25 years. Even among regular drivers, 40% never wore helmet. Eighty-two percent of the non-users were merely casual despite knowing about its advantages. Conclusion Helmet use is very poor among women (both drivers and pillion riders), despite working in hospital environment and owning helmet. Stricter enforcement of helmet law is needed, as education and knowledge per-se may not instil helmet use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The situation in India about road accidents is a serious problem. The State and Central government have been implementing measures to prevent the accidents on road by making helmets compulsory for two wheelers, speed limits, banning drivers from using mobile phones, etc. But if the accident occurs there is no provision for the victims to get the medical assistance immediately. So, accidents are the considerable economic losses to victims, their families, and to countries as a whole. To help the victims of road side accidents an android application will be developed. The witness of an accident can help the victim by just sending the image of that accident spot to nearby hospital or ambulance and nearby police station for further inquiry. A provision can also be made in future to get the identity of the victim to inform his/her relatives, this can either be done by matching the captured image of the victim with Aadhar card linked database or by bio-metrics. The main goal behind the development of our app will be to save the victim's life, as soon as any witness have noted the accident spot or whoever had notice such an incident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are a leading public health problem and the understanding of RTIs in rural India is limited. The present report documents the burden, pattern, characteristics and outcomes of RTIs in a rural district of India using combined data sources: police and hospital. RTIs contributed for 38% of fatal and 39% of non-fatal injuries with an annual mortality rate of 18.1/100,000 population/year. Young males were affected most and two-wheeler users and pedestrians were involved in 45% and 20% of fatal crashes, respectively. Nearly half (51%) of fatal RTIs occurred on national highways of the district; 46% died immediately at the site. Among those hospitalised, 20% were under the influence of alcohol while use of helmets and seat belts was <5%. Trauma care was deficient in the district leading to greater number of referrals. Road safety should be given high importance in rural India with a focus on safe roads, safe vehicles and safe people along with trauma care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Question: What are the various injuries in road traffic crash cases? Objectives: To study various non-fatal injuries in road traffic crash cases. Study Design: Hospital based Descriptive study. Study Population: The study population comprised of 401 consecutive cases of non-fatal injuries involved in road traffic crashes and reported at Indira Gandhi Medical College hospital, Shimla. Study Period: 1st June 2005 to 31st May 2006. Study Variables: Demographic characteristics of the victims, pattern of injuries and hospital stay of the victims. Types of crashes, time, day and month of crashes, vehicles involved in crashes, use of protective gear etc. Statistical Analysis: Percentages, Proportions. Results: 73% of the injured victims were young between 20-49yrs, male to female ratio being 5.3:1.Employees (34.7%) and occupants of transport vehicles (45.9%) constituted the maximum number of the victims. Major injuries (fractures and abd. injuries) were reported in 53.4% of the victims and fractures of lower limb were the commonest of the injuries (26.3%). Use of seat-belt was found to be alarmingly low (14.3%) amongst the four-wheeler users and its non-use was found to be significantly associated with the major injuries. Helmet was used by 36 cases (66.7%) out of total of 54 users of motorized two-wheelers at the time of crash. Human error was the most reported cause of crash (82%) and the most common mode of crash was skidding and/rolling down (55%).23.1% of the drivers were reported to have consumed alcohol at the time of crash. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article shows sketches of the improved diving dress invented by Thomas Cato McKeen that was patented on May 11, 1867. According to McKeen, the diving dress was designed to have improved bouys, protect the driver from water pressure impact at depth and allow him to carry his supply of air. It also notes the India rubber or waterproof material used in the diving dress, the standard helmet and the backpack made of metal or sheet copper that could hold 60 atmospheres of internal pressure.

An editorial on issues concerning public archaeology is presented. The authors comment on the failed bid for the Crosby Garrett Roman cavalry helmet discovered in Cumbria, England. They discuss the provisions of the Treasure Act in Great Britain. They address the debate over the location of the Babri Mosque in India.