Forensic medical evaluation of trauma cases in 0-18 age group presenting to Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty Emergency Department

Aim: All trauma cases admitted to the emergency department are forensic cases. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the age, gender, type of trauma, what kind of injuries the trauma caused, in which part of the body the injury occurred, and how the severity of the injury was reflected in the forensic reports of individuals aged 0-18 years who presented to the emergency department with a history of trauma. Materials and Methods: In this study, 1621 cases in the 0-18 age group who presented to the Adult and Pediatric Emergency Departments of Istanbul University - Cerrahpaşa, Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine between 01.01.2019 and 31.12.2023 and who were asked for consultation from our department were examined. Results: It was observed that 86.7% of the cases were consulted from the adult emergency department and 13.3% from the pediatric emergency department, 66.6% of all cases were male, 33.4% were female, and 45.2% of all cases were in the 12-18 age group. It was observed that 84.8% of the cases had physical injuries and 11.2% had chemical injuries. Among the physical injuries, blunt traumatic injuries were the most common with 69.0%, followed by sharp instrument injuries and penetrating traumatic injuries with 13.5%. In 35.3% of the cases, the injury was not mild enough to be resolved with a simple medical intervention and in 9.6% of the cases, the injury caused a life-threatening situation. Conclusion: In our study, the majority of the cases were traffic accidents, assaults, falls and home accidents. The ratio of assault cases in adolescent male gender to all cases is remarkable. In addition, home/school/work accidents, thermal injuries, corrosive substance exposure, foreign body aspiration/ingestion etc. are very important in terms of being predictable and preventable. In the prevention of injuries and accidents, it is important to create a safe environment for children and to raise awareness and consciousness in the society. Key Words: Child, forensic case, forensic medicine, forensic report, trauma,