Browsing by Author "Lakmal, S."

Filter results by typing the first few letters
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Deaths following drowning in Sri Lanka - a retrospective study
    (Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine at University of Peradeniya, 2020) Paranitharan, P.; Perera, W.N.S.; Lakmal, S.; Priyanath, D.C.; Senanayake, T.A.A.W.; Kumari, M.K.J.K.
    INTRODUCTION: Deaths following drowning are a common occurrence in Sri Lanka. Individuals drown in different circumstances like suicides, accidents and homicides. A study of this nature would be useful for prevention of such incidences and as a baseline for future studies. OBJECTIVES: With regard to victims of drowning to determine; the demographic profile, circumstances, autopsy findings and contributory factors for drowning. METHODOLOGY: Information was extracted from records of 59 drowning cases in the years 2008-2017. Data were analysed using the statistical package SPSS Version 22. RESULTS: Majority of deaths (37.3%) were within the age of 11-30 years. Twenty-six-point five percent (26.5%) of accidental deaths were within the age group 11-20 years. The circumstances were accident (57.6%), suicide (22 %) and not known whether accident or suicide (20.3%). The common places of accidental drowning were sea (20%), Tank (20%) and canal (18 %.) The well was the most common place for suicides (54%). Majority of victims were unemployed (37%) and labourers (25%). Froth in the nostrils (54.2%), Emphysematous expanded lungs (63%), rib indentation on the lungs (61%) froth in the airways (61%) and pulmonary oedema (66%) were observations which were suggestive of drowning. Environmental factors (41%) and alcohol consumption (20%) are among the possible contributory factors. CONCLUSION: Majority of the deaths are accidental. Environmental factors and alcohol consumption may play contributory roles. Awareness programmes targeting young adults will minimize accidental deaths. KEYWORDS: Circumstances, Contributory factors, Deaths, Drowning
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Two-a-pack cigarette packet in Sri Lanka: an affordability experiment by the tobacco industry?
    (BMJ, 2019) Wijesuriya, H.; Perera, M.N.; de Silva, G.; Vithanage, P.R.; Dineshkumar, P.; Lakmal, S.; Fernando, I. B.; Rajasuriya, M.; Alcohol and Drug Information Centre (ADIC) Sri Lanka
    Abstract not available