EVALUATION OF FORENSIC CASES ADMITTED TO THE PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY SERVICE OF A HOSPITAL

Seva Oner*, Leyla Uces Harmanogullar?, Gulcin Yapici and Sevcan Ozel

ABSTRACT

Objective: In this study, it was aimed to investigate forensic cases admitted to the pediatric emergency department of a hospital. Material and Method: The present study was carried out at the Mersin Peripheral Obstetrics-Gynecology and Pediatrics Hospital. All the cases who presented to the hospital emergency service in January, April, July and October 2016 comprised the study population. Of the study population, those considered as forensic cases were included in the study sample. According to patient records of the hospital, there were 5675 forensic cases in these months, and all these cases were included in the study. Data collection was conducted between November 01, 2016 and November 14, 2016. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the data. Results: Of the pediatric patients admitted to the emergency department (n = 86752), 6.54% were forensic cases. The mean age of the forensic cases was 6.4±4.8 (min = 0, max = 18). Of the forensic cases, 453 (8.0%) were repeated admissions, 354 (6.2%) were hospitalized and 482 (8.5%) presented with a forensic report. Of the forensic cases, 4300 (75.8%) presented due to injuries/falls, 378 (6.7%) due to poisonings and 302 (5.3%) due to burns. Conclusions: In the present study, the majority of the forensic cases were related to injuries, falls and poisonings. In less than one-tenth of the cases, forensic reports were written. Almost one-tenth of the forensic admissions were repeated admissions. All forensic cases should be identified by the physician.

Keywords: Emergency, child, forensic, injury, poisoning.