Evaluation of the relationship between injury type and trauma pattern inautopsies of cases with head trauma

Aim: Head trauma is one of the most important public health problems that cause death and disability especially in young population in developing countries and metropolitans. More than half of all deaths encountered in forensic autopsy are associated with primary or secondary damage to the central nervous system, particularly the brain. In this study; all autopsies with head trauma were examined. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the types of injuries that caused death and the distribution and characteristics of skull fractures. Methods: A total of 721 cases, died because of head trauma and had skull fractures whose autopsies were performed in Forensic Medicine Institution Ankara Group Presidency between 01.01.2017-31.12.2019, were included in the study, Research data were evaluated through SPSS 25.0 statistical package program. Results: 16.5% of the cases were female and 83.5% were male, with a mean age of 40.1±18.8 years. Head traumas most commonly caused death in adult age group men. The most common causes of death were firearm injuries, falls from height, and traffic accidents, respectively. Skull vault fractures were in 92.2% of all cases and base fractures were in 92.1%. The most common type of fracture in the vault was linear fracture (43.5%, n=866). 64.5% (n=233) of penetrating injuries in the vault were seen in the right and left temporal bones. 52.6% of fractures in the occipital bone are linear. Displaced fractures were most common in the left parietal bone with 18.6%, depressed fractures with 24.1% (n=34), and comminuted fractures with 26.5% were seen most commonly in the frontal bone. 103 44.6% of the skull base fractures occurred in the middle cranial cavity, 31% in the anterior cranial cavity, and 24.4% in the posterior cranial cavity. The most common type of fracture in the skull base was linear fracture (38.3%, n=476). Conclusion: One of the best measures that can be taken to prevent death and disability caused by head trauma is to establish policies to prevent the occurrence of head traumas. Examining the causes and characteristics of head traumas can contribute significantly to the formulation of these policies. In addition, it can enable the development of existing approaches and the production of new approaches, on diagnosis and treatment in the clinical practice and detection of findings and determination of the cause of death in the forensic autopsies.