Ulus Travma Acil Cerrahi Derg. 2022; 28(12): 1690-1695 | DOI: 10.14744/tjtes.2021.46383

The characteristics of assaulted victims presented to a university emergency department: Can head trauma in male patients be considered a clue for assaults?

Ayfer Keleþ, Gül Bahar Alkaþ, Gültekin Kadi, Mehmet Ali Aslaner, Fikret Bildik, Isa Kilicaslan, Ahmet Demircan
Department of Emergency Medicine, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara-Türkiye

BACKGROUND: Violence is a common issue without an exact number worldwide. The types are interpersonal, spousal, or domestic violence. We aim to reveal the demographic characteristics of cases involving violence, mechanisms of injury, and their relationship with head and face trauma.
METHODS: The files of patients presented to our University Hospital Adult Emergency Department (ED) between January 2018 and December 2020 after an assault were reviewed retrospectively. The data were analyzed with SPSS 20.0. The demographic findings, injury mechanisms, and affected areas were reported. The Chi-square test tested the differences between the groups, and p<0.05 was considered significant.
RESULTS: Among the 1280 patients presented after an assault, 71% were male with a median age of 32 (IQR 25–43). In 84% of the cases, the perpetrators were unknown, while their spouses were the perpetrators in 9% of the cases. The place was most noted as home (11%). The methods used were struggling (43%) and punching (42%). The most common affected area was the head (70%) and diagnosis for nasal fracture (4%); two patients had epidural bleeding, and one had a pneumothorax. Males were more common in the 20–40 age groups (χ2, p=0.003). Most of the female victims were battered by their spouses (χ2, p<0.001). Head injury was found in 83% of patients with high blood alcohol levels (χ2, p<0.001) and 75% of male patients had head injuries (χ2, p<0.001).
CONCLUSION: Assault is a common problem predominantly among young males. The most commonly affected body part was the head, and nasal fractures were the diagnosis. Most of the patients with high blood levels were among the male victims. The perpetrator of the female victims was their spouses. In the ED, male patients who presented with head trauma were considered as assault victims.

Keywords: Demographics, head trauma, injury mechanisms; interpersonal violence.

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Bir üniversite acil servisine baþvuran darp olgularýnýn özellikleri: Erkek hastalarda kafa travmasý darp için bir ipucu sayýlabilir mi?

Ayfer Keleþ, Gül Bahar Alkaþ, Gültekin Kadi, Mehmet Ali Aslaner, Fikret Bildik, Isa Kilicaslan, Ahmet Demircan
Gazi Üniversitesi Týp Fakültesi, Acil Týp Anabilim Dalý, Ankara

AMAÇ: Þiddet tüm dünyada kesin olgu sayýsý bilinmeyen yaygýn bir sorundur. Kiþilerarasý, eþ veya aile içi þiddet þeklinde tipleri vardýr. Çalýþmamýzda þiddet içeren olgularýn demografik özelliklerini, yaralanma mekanizmalarýný ve kafa ve yüz travmasý ile iliþkisini ortaya koymayý amaçlýyoruz.
GEREÇ VE YÖNTEM: Ocak 2018–Aralýk 2020 tarihleri arasýnda üniversite hastanemiz eriþkin acil servisine (AS) darp edilerek baþvuran hastalarýn dosyalarý geriye dönük olarak incelendi. Veriler SPSS 20.0 ile analiz edildi. Demografik bulgular, yaralanma mekanizmalarý ve etkilenen alanlar kaydedildi. Ki-kare testi gruplar arasýndaki farklýlýklarý test etti ve p<0.05 anlamlý kabul edildi.
BULGULAR: Darp edilerek baþvuran 1280 hastanýn %71’i erkekti ve medyan yaþý 32 (IQR 25–43) idi. Olgularýn %84’ünde darp eden bilinmeyen kiþiler, %9’unda darp eden eþleri olmuþtur. En çok darp edilen alan ev olarak belirtildi (%11). Kullanýlan yöntemler, boðuþma (%43) ve yumruk atma (%42) idi. En sýk etkilenen bölge baþ (%70) ve en sýk taný burun kýrýðý (%4) idi; iki hastada epidural kanama, bir hastada pnömotoraks saptandý. Erkekler en sýk 20–40 yaþ grubundaydý (χ2, p=0,003). Kadýn maðdurlarýn çoðu eþleri tarafýndan dövülmüþtü (χ2, p<0,001). Kan alkol düzeyi yüksek olan hastalarýn %83’ünde kafa travmasý (χ2, p<0.001) ve erkek hastalarýn %75’inde kafa travmasý (χ2, p<0.001) bulundu.
TARTIÞMA: Saldýrý, aðýrlýklý olarak genç erkekler arasýnda yaygýn bir sorundur. En sýk etkilenen vücut kýsmý baþ ve en sýk taný burun kýrýklarýydý. Kan alkol seviyeleri yüksek olan hastalarýn çoðu erkek kurbanlar arasýndaydý. Kadýn kurbanlarý darp edenler eþleriydi. Acil servise kafa travmasý ile baþvuran erkek hastalar saldýrý maðduru olarak deðerlendirildi.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Demografik özellikler, kafa travmasý, kiþilerarasý þiddet; yaralanma mekanizmasý.

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