Article in PDF
How to Cite
Citation Manager
Readers' Comments (0)
Audio Visual Article Statistics
Link
to PUBMED
Print this Article
Send to a Friend
Advertisers
Access Statistics Resources
Authors are the souls of any journal, and deserve much respect. To publish a journal manuscripts are needed from authors. Authors have a great responsibility for producing facts of their work in terms of number and results truthfully and an individual honesty is expected from authors in this regards. Both ways its true "No authors-No manuscripts-No journals" and "No journals–No manuscripts–No authors". Reviewing a manuscript is also a very responsible and important task of any peer-reviewed journal and to be taken seriously. It needs knowledge on the subject, sincerity, honesty and determination. Although the process of reviewing a manuscript is a time consuming task butit is expected to give one's best remarks within the time frame of the journal.
Salient features of the JCDR: It is a biomedical, multidisciplinary (including all medical and dental specialities), e-journal, with wide scope and extensive author support. At the same time, a free text of manuscript is available in HTML and PDF format. There is fast growing authorship and readership with JCDR as this can be judged by the number of articles published in it i e; in Feb 2007 of its first issue, it contained 5 articles only, and now in its recent volume published in April 2011, it contained 67 manuscripts. This e-journal is fulfilling the commitments and objectives sincerely, (as stated by Editor-in-chief in his preface to first edition) i e; to encourage physicians through the internet, especially from the developing countries who witness a spectrum of disease and acquire a wealth of knowledge to publish their experiences to benefit the medical community in patients care. I also feel that many of us have work of substance, newer ideas, adequate clinical materials but poor in medical writing and hesitation to submit the work and need help. JCDR provides authors help in this regards.
Timely publication of journal: Publication of manuscripts and bringing out the issue in time is one of the positive aspects of JCDR and is possible with strong support team in terms of peer reviewers, proof reading, language check, computer operators, etc. This is one of the great reasons for authors to submit their work with JCDR. Another best part of JCDR is "Online first Publications" facilities available for the authors. This facility not only provides the prompt publications of the manuscripts but at the same time also early availability of the manuscripts for the readers.
Indexation and online availability: Indexation transforms the journal in some sense from its local ownership to the worldwide professional community and to the public.JCDR is indexed with Embase & EMbiology, Google Scholar, Index Copernicus, Chemical Abstracts Service, Journal seek Database, Indian Science Abstracts, to name few of them. Manuscriptspublished in JCDR are available on major search engines ie; google, yahoo, msn.
In the era of fast growing newer technologies, and in computer and internet friendly environment the manuscripts preparation, submission, review, revision, etc and all can be done and checked with a click from all corer of the world, at any time. Of course there is always a scope for improvement in every field and none is perfect. To progress, one needs to identify the areas of one's weakness and to strengthen them.
It is well said that "happy beginning is half done" and it fits perfectly with JCDR. It has grown considerably and I feel it has already grown up from its infancy to adolescence, achieving the status of standard online e-journal form Indian continent since its inception in Feb 2007. This had been made possible due to the efforts and the hard work put in it. The way the JCDR is improving with every new volume, with good quality original manuscripts, makes it a quality journal for readers. I must thank and congratulate Dr Hemant Jain, Editor-in-Chief JCDR and his team for their sincere efforts, dedication, and determination for making JCDR a fast growing journal.
Every one of us: authors, reviewers, editors, and publisher are responsible for enhancing the stature of the journal. I wish for a great success for JCDR."
Thanking you
With sincere regards
Dr. Rajendra Kumar Ghritlaharey, M.S., M. Ch., FAIS
Associate Professor,
Department of Paediatric Surgery, Gandhi Medical College & Associated
Kamla Nehru & Hamidia Hospitals Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 462 001 (India)
E-mail: drrajendrak1@rediffmail.com
On May 11,2011
Dr. Shankar P.R.
"On looking back through my Gmail archives after being requested by the journal to write a short editorial about my experiences of publishing with the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research (JCDR), I came across an e-mail from Dr. Hemant Jain, Editor, in March 2007, which introduced the new electronic journal. The main features of the journal which were outlined in the e-mail were extensive author support, cash rewards, the peer review process, and other salient features of the journal.
Over a span of over four years, we (I and my colleagues) have published around 25 articles in the journal. In this editorial, I plan to briefly discuss my experiences of publishing with JCDR and the strengths of the journal and to finally address the areas for improvement.
My experiences of publishing with JCDR: Overall, my experiences of publishing withJCDR have been positive. The best point about the journal is that it responds to queries from the author. This may seem to be simple and not too much to ask for, but unfortunately, many journals in the subcontinent and from many developing countries do not respond or they respond with a long delay to the queries from the authors 1. The reasons could be many, including lack of optimal secretarial and other support. Another problem with many journals is the slowness of the review process. Editorial processing and peer review can take anywhere between a year to two years with some journals. Also, some journals do not keep the contributors informed about the progress of the review process. Due to the long review process, the articles can lose their relevance and topicality. A major benefit with JCDR is the timeliness and promptness of its response. In Dr Jain's e-mail which was sent to me in 2007, before the introduction of the Pre-publishing system, he had stated that he had received my submission and that he would get back to me within seven days and he did!
Most of the manuscripts are published within 3 to 4 months of their submission if they are found to be suitable after the review process. JCDR is published bimonthly and the accepted articles were usually published in the next issue. Recently, due to the increased volume of the submissions, the review process has become slower and it ?? Section can take from 4 to 6 months for the articles to be reviewed. The journal has an extensive author support system and it has recently introduced a paid expedited review process. The journal also mentions the average time for processing the manuscript under different submission systems - regular submission and expedited review.
Strengths of the journal: The journal has an online first facility in which the accepted manuscripts may be published on the website before being included in a regular issue of the journal. This cuts down the time between their acceptance and the publication. The journal is indexed in many databases, though not in PubMed. The editorial board should now take steps to index the journal in PubMed. The journal has a system of notifying readers through e-mail when a new issue is released. Also, the articles are available in both the HTML and the PDF formats. I especially like the new and colorful page format of the journal. Also, the access statistics of the articles are available. The prepublication and the manuscript tracking system are also helpful for the authors.
Areas for improvement: In certain cases, I felt that the peer review process of the manuscripts was not up to international standards and that it should be strengthened. Also, the number of manuscripts in an issue is high and it may be difficult for readers to go through all of them. The journal can consider tightening of the peer review process and increasing the quality standards for the acceptance of the manuscripts. I faced occasional problems with the online manuscript submission (Pre-publishing) system, which have to be addressed.
Overall, the publishing process with JCDR has been smooth, quick and relatively hassle free and I can recommend other authors to consider the journal as an outlet for their work."
Dr. P. Ravi Shankar
KIST Medical College, P.O. Box 14142, Kathmandu, Nepal.
E-mail: ravi.dr.shankar@gmail.com
On April 2011 Anuradha
Dear team JCDR, I would like to thank you for the very professional and polite service provided by everyone at JCDR. While i have been in the field of writing and editing for sometime, this has been my first attempt in publishing a scientific paper.Thank you for hand-holding me through the process.
Dr. Anuradha
E-mail: anuradha2nittur@gmail.com
On Jan 2020
Original article / research
Full Version
A Profile of the Autopsies of Road Traffic Accident Victims in Jammu.
Correspondence Address :
Dr Rashmi Sharma MD, DMCH. Asstt Surgeon , Accidental Hospital Vijaypur-
J&K Health Services-Jammu-India. 216-A Gandhi-Nagar Jammu- 180004. e.mail: rashmichams@yahoo.com
BACKGROUND: RTA (road traffic accident) is the third major preventable cause of all deaths.
AIMS: To study the demographic and injury profile in autopsy cases with an alleged history of RTA.
DESIGN: The retrospective observational study.
SETTING: Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Department of a tertiary care hospital.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS: All autopsies of RTA victims which were performed between January 2000 to December 2005, were analysed for sex, age, time of RTA, type of vehicle, position of victim during RTA, nature of injury, and cause of death.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: All parameters were expressed in percentage.
RESULTS: A total of 249 RTA victims were referred for autopsy during the years 2000 to 2005. One hundred and thirty two (53.01%) victims were between 20-40 years of age, males constituted 85.14% of the total victims, and light vehicles were involved in 61.05% RTAs. 54.22% RTAs occurred during the daytime, between 9 AM to 8 PM. A total 609 type of injuries (organs involved) were reported in 249 victims. Limb injures constituted 189 (31.08%) of the total injuries, followed by injuries involving head, thorax, abdomen, pelvis and spine. Among head injuries, fractured skulls occurred in 68.85%, Subdural Haemorrhage in 79.31%, Subarachnoid Haemorrhage in 63.33%, Extradural Haemorrhage in 48.85%, Intra-cranial injuries in 21.26%, and Contusion in 35.63% of the victims. Head injury accounted for 173 (69.48%) of deaths, and haemorrhagic shock for 61 (24.49%) of deaths.
CONCLUSION: Various preventive measures like speed control, helmet use, no driving under alcohol influence etc., enforcing road safety regulations, and improving emergency medical services could be used to control the increasing toll of deaths due to RTA.
RTA, Autopsies, Injury profile.
Each year, road traffic injuries take the lives of 1.2 million people around the world and seriously injure millions more(1). The death rate is highest, and still growing in low and middle-income countries, where pedestrians, motorcyclists, cyclists and passengers are especially vulnerable(1). Moreover, estimated costs of road traffic injuries are between 1% and 2% of GNP per annum in these countries, and accounts for a loss of approximately US$ 65 billion every year; almost twice the total development assistance received worldwide by developing countries(1). India accounts for about 10 percent of road accident fatalities worldwide, 85% of all road accident deaths occur in developing countries, and nearly half in the Asia-Pacific region.(1) According to the World Health Report 2002, 30.3% morbidity and 28.7% mortality occurred in the South-East Asia Region due to injuries(2),(3). According to a report of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, one accident occurs every two minutes, and one suicide every five minutes in India, with the accident rate corresponding to 45 per 100 000 population.(3) However, there is underreporting of traffic injuries by the health sector in India(3). As there is no study available regarding injury profile in road accident deaths from our part of the country; the present study was conducted to study the demographic and injury profile in autopsy cases with alleged history of Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs).
The present retrospective study was conducted on 249 autopsy cases brought to the Forensic Department of a tertiary care institute during the period between years 2000 – 2005, with an alleged history of RTA. For the purpose of the study, a RTA was defined as an accident which took place on the road between two or more objects, one of which must be any kind of a moving vehicle. Various study variables analyzed were sex, age, time of RTA, type of vehicle (light vehicle like two wheelers, three wheelers, car, jeep etc. and heavy vehicle like truck, bus, train, tractor) and position of the victim during RTA (occupant/ pedestrian/ driver), nature of injury, and cause of death. The data sources were statements of patient (dying declaration), history from relatives and friends, and police investigation reports. All the parameters were expressed in percentage and numbers. The international classification of diseases and related health problems (ICD-10) was used in coding morbidities and mortalities resulting from RTA.(4) In ICD-10, transport accidents (V01-V99) have been regrouped by the type of injured person (i.e. pedestrian, pedal cyclist, motorcycle rider, car or bus occupant) and mode of transport. All the parameters were presented in percentage.
(Table/Fig 1),(Table/Fig 2),(Table/Fig 3),(Table/Fig 4),
A total of 249 RTA victims were referred for autopsy during the years 2000 to 2005. One hundred and thirty two (53.01%) victims were between 20-40 years of age; but only 31 (12.45%) victims were below 20 years of age (Table/Fig 1). Males constituted 85.14% of the total victims, and light vehicles were involved in 61.05% RTAs (Table/Fig 1),(Table/Fig 4). Two wheelers were involved in 102 (42%) of RTA. One hundred and thirty five (54.22%) RTA occurred during the daytime, between 9 AM to 8 PM.
A total of 609 injuries (organs involved) were reported in 249 victims. Limb injures constituted 189 (31.08%) of the total injuries, followed by injuries involving head, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, and spine (Table/Fig 2). Among head injuries Subdural Haemorrhage was most common. (Table/Fig 3).
India has 1% of vehicles in the world; but it accounts for about 6% of the total cases of unintentional injuries(3). In the present study, males constituted 85.14% and females constituted only 14.86% of the total victims. Moreover, age between 20-40 years was found to be more vulnerable to RTA. Similarly, in a study from South India, there were 83% males and 17% female accident victims(2). Labourers were the highest (29.9%) among the victims(2). The occupants of various vehicles constituted the large (45%) group of the victims. Among the motorized vehicles, two wheeler drivers were more (31.1%) involved in accidents. Out of 254 drivers, 14.9% were found to have consumed alcohol. Being knocked down was the common mode of accidents(2). However, in our study, a majority of victims were pedestrians (55.32%). Previously a study from Delhi reported 69% injuries (out of total 680 traffic injuries) in the age group of 15 to 35, and males were four times more affected than females(3). The business group had a higher incidence, followed by the service group and the labour group(3). In a study from Maharahtra, maximum cases of RTA were among males (83.20%), and in the age group of 20 to 39 years (51.20%)(5). Banerjee K.K. from Delhi reported 81.80% victims of thoraco-abdominal injuries all of which were in males, and of all, 40% were in the age group of 21-30 years(6). A study from Nepal also reported 16-30 years as commonest age-group involved in RTA. Males sustained craniofacial injuries about 4 times more than females in this study(2).
A few studies reported pedestrians as the majority of victims involved in RTA, as reported in our study(5),(7). In our study, limb injures constituted 31.08% of the total injuries, followed by injuries involving head, thorax, abdomen, pelvis and spine. Among head injuries, fractured skulls occurred in 68.85%, Subdural Haemorrhage in 79.31%, Subarachnoid Haemorrhage in 63.33%, Extradural Haemorrhage in 48.85%, Intra-cranial injuries in 21.26%, and Contusion in 35.63% of the victims. In an earlier study from India, head was the commonest site to be injured in RTA, and Subdural Haemorrhage was the commonest haemorrhage. Laceration of brain tissue was highest among all brain tissue injuries, as reported in our study(5). In a study from Nepal, 39% of medico-legal cases that were brought to the emergency department, were of craniofacial trauma ( in 70% cases, cause is RTA)(2). Ganveer GB and Tiwari RR also reported in their study that out of total 423 subjects, 363 (85.8%) were males, while only 60 (14.2%) were female subjects, and a majority of the victims (75%) were in the age group 18- 37 years(8). Moreover, in the above study, two wheelers and LMV were the most common vehicles involved, and fracture of the bones was the common injury afflicted in accidents, as reported in our study.(8) In the present study, head injury was the major cause of death (69.48%), as reported earlier by Chaudhary B L, et al(5).
RTA is one of the major causes of disability and death all over the world. Every 4 minutes, a person killed or injured in India due to RTA(1). Behaviour of the road user, vehicle characteristics, and traffic environment, coupled with human errors, have been cited as the main causes. The All India road data shows that 83.5% of the accidents were due to the driver’s fault. Other contributory factors were: mechanical defects in vehicles, pedestrian fault, fault of the passenger, bad roads, and bad weather(9). A study in Bangalore showed
- Emerging Sources Citation Index (Web of Science, thomsonreuters)
- Index Copernicus ICV 2017: 134.54
- Academic Search Complete Database
- Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
- Embase
- EBSCOhost
- Google Scholar
- HINARI Access to Research in Health Programme
- Indian Science Abstracts (ISA)
- Journal seek Database
- Popline (reproductive health literature)
- www.omnimedicalsearch.com