Aim

The aim of this study was to analyse the outcomes of pediatric forensic cases who admitted to the emergency department retrospectively. In addition, we also aimed to contribute to the national survey by determining the treatment results and comparing this data with the other studies.

Materials and Methods

The forensic pediatric cases records were reviewed retrospectively. The data including age, sex, presenting complaint and frequencies, discharge and mortality rates were recorded. Data were evaluated by Kruskal-Wallis, t-test and Mann-Whitney U tests. Values of p<0.05 were considered as significant.

Results

A total of 767 pediatric patients admitted to the emergency service and of these, 419 (54.6%) were forensic cases. The age interval and mean age were 0-18 years and 8.77±4.99, respectively. For forensic cases, 160 (38.1%) were female and 259 (61.9%) were male. The maximum number of admissions were in summer. When the causes of admissions were evaluated, the most common complaint was traffic accident (60.6%). Of all cases, 81% were discharged from the emergency department, whilst 12.1% of cases were hospitalized.

Conclusion

The most of the pediatric forensic cases are arised from the preventable causes. Therefore, protective measures should be developed for providing a safe environment for children and education programmes for parents and children should be supported and expanded by national institutions.

Keywords: Emergency service, forensic case, pediatric patient