Distribution of forensic cases in applications to the emergency department of a University Hospital in the year of the pandemic onset and one year before

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the changes in the characteristics of forensic cases admitted to the emergency department before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This observational cross-sectional study was conducted between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2021 at the Department of Emergency Medicine, Tekirdag Namik Kemal University. The period between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020 was defined as the "COVID-19 pre-pandemic period" (n = 1101), and the period between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 was defined as the "COVID-19 pandemic period" (n = 685). The files of the patients admitted to the emergency department were retrospectively analyzed from hospital records. Results: Of the 1786 forensic cases included in the study, 71.6% were male and the mean age was 32.68 ± 15.67 years. The most common case types were 28.7% assault/ battery, 25.1% road traffic accidents and 20.9% occupational accidents. While 61.6% of the cases presented in the pre-pandemic period, 38.4% presented during the pandemic period. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, the frequency of forensic cases among emergency department admissions increased significantly during the pandemic period (1.5% vs 1.7%, p = 0.001). Compared to the pre-pandemic period, the age of forensic cases, the frequency of hospitalized cases, the duration of hospitalization, the frequency of occupational and motorcycle accidents increased significantly during the pandemic period, while the frequency of forensic cases due to assault/ battery and traffic accidents decreased significantly (p<0.05). Compared to the prepandemic period, there was a statistically significant difference in the months of hospitalization during the pandemic period (p<0.001). Conclusion: Although the number of forensic cases decreased during the pandemic period, it was observed that the intensity of forensic cases increased among the cases admitted to the hospital. Cases admitted during the pandemic period were older, hospitalized more frequently and for longer periods. There were also fewer cases of assault and battery, traffic accidents and more cases of occupational and motorcycle accidents. Keywords: Emergency department, COVID-19, pandemic, forensic case