Periferal Vascular Injuries Related Deaths

BACKGROUND
Peripheral vascular injuries are frequently encountered in lethal and nonlethal trauma. Although significant improvements in treatment have been achieved, such injuries are still important causes of mortality.
METHODS
In this study, the records of 6769 autopsies performed between 1996 and 2006 at the Council of Forensic Medicine Bursa Group Chairmanship Morgue Department were evaluated retrospectively.
RESULTS
The 63 cases (0.9%) who were determined to have died due to vascular injury were included in this study. Fifty-seven cases (90.5%) were men (mean age: 36 years); 58.7% of the injuries were due to stab wounds. The femoral artery and vein were the most frequently injured vessels. The origin was a homicide in 85.7% of the cases. In 25% of the cases, blood alcohol levels were between 44 and 256 mg/dL.
CONCLUSION
The availability of experienced surgical teams and effective prehospital emergency care are vital for decreasing the mortality due to extremity vascular injuries. In the autopsy of a patient who died primarily due to extremity vascular injury, the injured vessel, numbers of injuries and of lethal injuries, and locations and sides of the injuries shed light on the possible presence of intention.

Periferik Damar Yaralanmalarýna Baðlý Ölümler

AMAÇ
Periferik damar yaralanmalarý sýklýkla ölümcül ve ölümcül olmayan travmalarda saptanmaktadýr. Tedavide önemli ilerlemeler kaydedilmesine karþýn, bunlar hala önemli ölüm nedenleri olarak kalmaktadýr.
GEREÇ VE YÖNTEM
Bu çalýþmada, 1996 ile 2006 yýllarý arasýnda Adli Týp Kurumu Bursa Grup Baþkanlýðý Morgu’nda yapýlan 6796 otopsiye ait raporlar retrospektif olarak incelendi.
BULGULAR
Çalýþmaya, damar yaralanmasýna baðlý hayatýný kaybettiði saptanan 63 (%0,9) olgu dahil edildi. Olgularýn 57’si (%90,5) erkek olup, yaþ ortalamasý 36 bulundu; yaralanmalarýn %58,7’si kesici delici alet yaralanmasýna baðlý idi. Olgularýn %85,7’sinde orijinin cinayet olduðu belirlendi; %25’inde kan alkol seviyesi 44 ile 256 mg/dL arasýnda saptandý.
SONUÇ
Ekstremite damar yaralanmalarýnda, mortaliteyi azaltmak açýsýndan tecrübeli cerrahi ekibin bulunmasý, bunun yanýnda efektif hastane öncesi acil giriþim yapýlmasý hayati önem taþýmaktadýr. Primer ekstremite damar yaralanmasýna baðlý ölen kiþilerin otopsilerinde; yaralanan damar, yaralanma sayýsý ve ölümcül yaralanma sayýsý, yaralanma yerleþimi ve tarafý özellikle üzerinde durulmasý gereken konulardýr.