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Cited by 4 publications
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Blunt force trauma is a common homicide method, inflicted in three different ways: bodily force, assault with blunt objects of various types and falls from height. The objective of this study is to provide thorough information on blunt force homicides with data on the victims, the offenders, the surrounding circumstances, the injury methods, the extent of injuries, and survival time, which will help inform the inexperienced as well as the seasoned forensic pathologist in their daily work with death investigation and as expert witnesses in court. We have analyzed autopsy reports and available case files of 311 blunt force homicides, making up 21.9% of all homicides in Denmark during 1992–2016. Most victims and offenders were male. Altercation in the setting of nightlife and intoxication was common in male victims, while most female victims were killed in a domestic setting. Bodily force was the most common primary homicide method, followed by assault with a blunt object and fall from height. The head was the region that most often had external injuries, with no noteworthy difference between cases with bodily force and blunt objects. Two out of three victims had one or more lacerations, most often located on the head and more often on the front. Brain injury was the primary cause of death in at least 72.0% victims. Compared to bodily force victims of blunt object assault were especially prone to skull and brain injuries, had a higher trauma score, and more died at the crime scene and had a shorter survival time.
Blunt force trauma is a common homicide method, inflicted in three different ways: bodily force, assault with blunt objects of various types and falls from height. The objective of this study is to provide thorough information on blunt force homicides with data on the victims, the offenders, the surrounding circumstances, the injury methods, the extent of injuries, and survival time, which will help inform the inexperienced as well as the seasoned forensic pathologist in their daily work with death investigation and as expert witnesses in court. We have analyzed autopsy reports and available case files of 311 blunt force homicides, making up 21.9% of all homicides in Denmark during 1992–2016. Most victims and offenders were male. Altercation in the setting of nightlife and intoxication was common in male victims, while most female victims were killed in a domestic setting. Bodily force was the most common primary homicide method, followed by assault with a blunt object and fall from height. The head was the region that most often had external injuries, with no noteworthy difference between cases with bodily force and blunt objects. Two out of three victims had one or more lacerations, most often located on the head and more often on the front. Brain injury was the primary cause of death in at least 72.0% victims. Compared to bodily force victims of blunt object assault were especially prone to skull and brain injuries, had a higher trauma score, and more died at the crime scene and had a shorter survival time.
Background and Aim. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of demographic characteristics, biochemical parameters, amount of blood transfusion, and trauma scores on morbidity in patients with solid organ injury following trauma. Material and Method. One hundred nine patients with solid organ injury due to abdominal trauma during January 2005 and October 2015 were examined retrospectively in the General Surgery Department of Dicle University Medical Faculty. Patients' age, gender, trauma interval time, vital status (heart rate, arterial tension, and respiratory rate), hematocrit (HCT) value, serum area aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) values, presence of free abdominal fluid in USG, trauma mechanism, extra-abdominal system injuries, injured solid organs and their number, degree of injury in abdominal CT, number of blood transfusions, duration of hospital stay, time of operation (for those undergoing operation), trauma scores (ISS, RTS, Glasgow coma scale, and TRISS), and causes of morbidity and mortality were examined. In posttraumatic follow-up period, intra-abdominal hematoma infection, emboli, catheter infection, and deep vein thrombosis were monitored as factors of morbidity. Results. One hundred nine patients were followed up and treated due to isolated solid organ injury following abdominal trauma. There were 81 males (74.3%) and 28 females (25.7%), and the mean age was 37.6 ± 18.28 (15–78) years. When examining the mechanism of abdominal trauma in patients, the following results were obtained: 58 (53.3%) traffic accidents (22 out-vehicle and 36 in-vehicle), 27 (24.7%) falling from a height, 14 (12.9%) assaults, 5 (4.5%) sharp object injuries, and 5 (4.5%) gunshot injuries. When evaluating 69 liver injuries scaled by CT the following was detected: 14 (20.3%) of grade I, 32 (46.4%) of grade II, 22 (31.8%) of grade III, and 1 (1.5%) of grade IV. In 63 spleen injuries scaled by CT the following was present: grade I in 21 (33.3%), grade II in 27 (42.9%), grade III in 11 (17.5%), and grade IV in 4 (6.3%). The mean length of hospital stay after trauma was 6.46 days in the medically followed patients. This ratio was 8.13 days in 22 patients with morbidity and 5.98 days in 78 patients without morbidity. There was a morbidity in 22 (22%) patients medically followed after trauma. In this study, nonoperative treatment was observed to be performed safely in solid organ injuries after trauma in case of absence of hemodynamic stability and peritoneal irritation. It has been emphasized that injury of both liver and spleen (p < 0.01), high respiratory rate (p < 0.01), trauma scores (GKS, ISS, RTS) (p < 0.0001), and elevation of ALT AST values (p < 0.01) are stimulants for morbidity that may occur during follow-up. Conclusion. Medical follow-up can be considered in patients with high grade injuries similar to patients with low-grade solid organ injury after trauma. The injury of both liver and spleen, high respiratory rate, high GCS and ISS, low RTS, and elevation of ALT AST values w...
Although it is known that elderly pedestrians are at increased risk of injury and death from vehicle crashes the specific pattern of lethal injuries related to age has not been extensively studied. Data on the numbers of pedestrian fatalities and ages were obtained from 1990 to 2020 from the Traffic Accident Reporting System, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia and detailed autopsy data on fatal pedestrian crashes from the pathology database at Forensic Science SA, Adelaide, South Australia from 2000 to 2020. Fatal injuries were separated into the following regions: head/face, spine, chest, abdomen and limbs/skeleton. Analysis of 634 cases of pedestrian fatalities (1990–2020) showed a significant decline in numbers over the years ( p < 0.001). Analysis of fatal injuries in 219 cases (2000–2020) showed a significant reduction in the proportion of fatal head injuries with increasing age ( p < 0.05), a significant increase in the proportion of fatal chest injuries with increasing age ( p < 0.01) and a significant increase in the proportion of fatal limb/skeletal injuries with increasing age ( p < 0.05). Older pedestrians are, therefore, more likely to sustain lethal chest and limb/skeletal injuries than head injuries compared to those who are younger, presumably due to greater physical fragility that occurs with age, with loss of protective muscle bulk and bone density.
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