Evaluation of Forensic Cases Admitted to the Emergency Department: A Retrospective Analysis

Abstract

This study was conducted retrospectively to determine the profile of forensic cases admitted to the emergency department of a university hospital. 127242 patients admitted to the emergency department of a university hospital within one year were retrospectively reviewed in terms of age, gender, type of event, the season of occurrence, age, and gender distribution of the type of event. The data were analyzed using the SPSS 23.0 package program. Out of all the forensic cases analyzed, 35.8% (n: 525) were in the 0-14 age group, and 64.7% (n: 949) were males. Admissions were most frequently made in the summer months. The most common forensic diagnoses were exposure to assault/violence, accounting for 29.2% of cases, followed by drug poisoning at 19.1%, and burns at 17.1%. Most cases (66.5%) were discharged after receiving outpatient treatment. It is evident that a substantial number of forensic cases admitted to the emergency department were preventable. To reduce the occurrence of preventable cases, it is essential to implement protective measures both outdoors and at home, creating a safe environment. It is crucial to support and promote education and awareness-raising activities that actively involve families with the support of social institutions. Support and dissemination of education and awareness-raising activities in which families will actively participate by social institutions, raising awareness of society through public service announcements, establishing an understanding that “does not tolerate violence” in preventing and reducing violence at home and in society, and enactment of effective and deterrent laws will be significant steps towards solving the problem of reducing assault/violence. Nurses, as healthcare professionals who have close interactions with individuals in various societal domains, play a crucial role in mitigating violence by assisting individuals in recognizing and managing anger, expressing it appropriately, and developing effective stress-coping strategies.

One Year Retrospective Review of Forensic Reports Reported in the Emergency Department

“…Considering the nature of forensic events, we see that traffic accidents ranked first with 33.3%, followed by assault and battery cases with 24.1% and occupational accidents with 21.5%. In our study, it was found that physicians kept forensic reports mostly related to traffic accidents, which was consistent with similar studies in the literature 2,25,26,29,[31][32][33] . In addition to the fact that traffic accidents and related injuries are still a major problem in our country, it was associated with the fact that our hospital was located close to the city center and intercity road junction.…”

“…The mean age was 33.4 years (±15.7) and approximately half of the cases (49.4%) were between 21 and 40 years of age. The high number of forensic cases in this age group, which plays a greater role in the active period of the life process, was found to be consistent with similar studies in the literature [25][26][27][28][29][30] .…”

“…Although this ratio varies in similar studies in the literature, it has been observed that there are many studies in which the number of men is higher 25 . The difference in male density was thought to be due to the fact that men were more involved in the social and business environment of our country than women, and it was understood that similar opinions prevailed in other studies [26][27][28][29] .…”