Evaluation of bone fractures and dislocations in forensic traumatology

Introduction: In forensic traumatology practice, bone fractures and dislocations due to forensic cases are commonly faced by forensic medicine specialists. In our country bone fractures and dislocations are evaluated by related articles in Turkish Penal Code. In this study, we aimed to evaluate bone fractures and dislocations by anatomical region, etiology and demographic information. Materials and methods: All cases which were reported by Department of Forensic Medicine between 01.01.2016 and 31.12.2018 were examined retrospectively and 606 cases who had bone fractures or dislocations included in our study. Results: The mean age was 32.71; 52.5% (n=318) of the cases were between 18-39 years and 80.2% (n=486) were male. Traffic accident was the most common cause (%59.9) for bone fractures. The most frequent affected region was lower extremity (34.5%), followed by upper extremity (26.6%). The most commonly injured body region was extremities with 36.6% ratio. 27.9% of the cases were life-threatening and 12.7% of cases had central nervous system injury. Average of bone fracture severity score was 3.54 (min=1, max=6). Average of fracture frequency was 2.40 (min=1, max=18.) Conclusion: More than half of the patients' (52.5%) age was between 18-39 years and almost 28% of the cases had life-threatening injuries. High bone fracture severity score and related injuries demonstrated the importance of bone fractures. More research on the etiology and anatomic regions is required to take necessary precautions and prevent bone fractures. Keyword: forensic traumatology, bone fractures, trauma of skeletal system.