The evaluation of traffic accidents cases which be analyzed blood alcohol concentration in terms of forensic medicine"

Aim:Road accidents have become a major social problem around the world. This problem is mainly due to human factors and to a lesser extent to other factors including vehicles, road conditions, and environmental factors.The aim of this study was to provide solutions for the reduction of road accidents, to investigate the role of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in road accidents, and to present a medicolegal perspective to physicians by investigating the forensic reports issued in emergency services for forensic road accidents. Materials and Methods: The retrospective study included 352 road accident cases that presented to Dicle University Medical School Emergency Service and underwent blood alcohol testingbetween May 1, 2017 and April 30, 2018. Age, gender, BAC, site of injury, severity of injury, and the remarks noted in the provisional forensic reportwere reviewed for each case. Results:The cases comprised 339 (96.3%) men and 13 (3.7%) women with a mean age of 34.70±13.03 years. The road accidents mostly occurred between 12:01-10:00 PM, on Sundays, and in Summer. The most common site of injury was the head and neck region (53.7%) followed by upper and lower extremities (32.7% for both). Life-threatening thoracic injuries were found in 13.1% of the patients. Five (1.4%) cases died, all of whom were male and aged between 20-35 years. Nineteen (5.4%) cases had a BAC of >0.5 mg/dl, including 18 men and 1 woman.Alcohol abuse was most commonly seen between 21-30 years and in Summer. Conclusion:All the individuals in a society should aim for a higher level of traffic cultureto minimize the road accidentseven if they cannot eradicate them completely. Key words: Forensic Medicine, Road Accidents, Injury, Blood Alcohol Concentration, Forensic Report