Cattle-caused fatalities in a province of western Turkey: 1996-2010 autopsy results.

Cattle-caused injuries and deaths are much more than predicted. The aim of this research is to determine the prevalence of cattle-caused fatalities and the factors affecting it in a province of western Turkey. The court files on cattle-caused fatalities during a 15-year period between 1996 and 2010 were explored. The proportion of forensic-qualified deaths from the total of 3753 was 0.9% (35/3753). Most of the cases were between the ages of 18 and 65 (60%). Most deaths occurred in the spring and summer months compared with autumn and winter months (9 and 22 vs. 3 and 1, respectively). The mortality rate was much higher in men compared with women (94.3% and 5.7%, respectively). The majority of deaths were caused by injuries on the chest (71.4%). The reason for most deaths was due to hemopneumothorax and lung injury (71.4%). Predicting the behavior of cattle may not always be possible, as such, it is advisable that one wears protective equipment when dealing with cattle.

Forensic psychiatric reports for victims of sexual assault and consensus problems among expertise institutes.

OBJECTIVE: It is known that sexual assault sets the stage for various mental diseases. Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety disorder, and adjustment disorder are most commonly encountered. In this paper, the aim was to determine the demographic characteristics of the sex crimes which were prosecuted at the courts in the city of Eskisehir, to evaluate the forensic reports which were prepared by different institutes for sex crime victims in order to clarify the impairment of physical or mental health, to discuss the contradictions between the institutions about this subject; and within this context, to determine the troubles which were experienced at the stage of implementing clauses of the Criminal Code related to sexual assault. METHOD: The files of legal investigations of the sex crime cases which were transferred to the legal authorities between 01.06.2005 and 31.12.2008 were analyzed and the process of trial and court verdicts were evaluated. RESULTS: It was established that there was no consensus on the evaluation of impairment of the mental health between local institutes and the Council of Forensic Medicine. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that parallel evaluations between the Council of Forensic Medicine and other health institutes on 'the impairment of physical or mental health' are necessary, and units should be established at local levels where forensic medicine specialists, psychiatrists and child and adolescent psychiatrists can work together and where the victim is listened to and examined only one time and, if necessary, biological samples can be taken and evaluated, which will make a great contribution to the solution of the problems.

[An evaluation of dog and cat bites over a five-year period: a sample case from Eskisehir]. / Bes yillik süreçte köpek ve kedi isiriklarinin degerlendirilmesi: Eskisehir'den örnek bir çalisma.

BACKGROUND: In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the demographic, medical and forensic aspects of patients who were bitten by cats or dogs and admitted to the Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Education, Training and Research Hospital. METHODS: All the medical records of the last five years inside the automation system of the hospital were investigated. One hundred sixty-seven cases were included according to their ICD-10 diagnostic codes. On statistical evaluation, frequency and chi-square analyses were conducted and SPSS 13.0 program was used. RESULTS: One hundred sixteen patients were bitten by dogs, whereas 46 patients were bitten by cats. Most of the victims were children. 51.9% of the bites were on an upper extremity, and 29.1% were on a lower extremity. Although cat and dog bites demonstrate seasonal changes, summer months were found important, when children were on holidays. Hyperemia, scratch and laceration were the most frequent diagnoses after injury. The length of hospital stay was between 1-22 days and calculated as a mean 7.3±5.8 days. CONCLUSION: Dog and cat bites are very well known public health issues in our country. To know animals and their needs and to respect them should be the priority of families to avoid unexpected injury. Families should teach their children to treat dogs and cats with respect, to avoid direct eye contact with the animals and not to annoy them.

Evaluation of the adjudicated incest cases in Turkey: difficulties in notification of incestuous relationships.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and evaluation of the adjudicated incest cases in the heavy penal court in a province of western Turkey. The court files of 65 incest cases during a 10-year period between 1999 and 2008 were explored. When compared to those who lived in cities, the cases who lived in rural areas, such as villages or towns, had been exposed to penetration more frequently (94.3% and 70.0%, respectively, p<0.01). For the cases where the victim and perpetrator lived in the same house, the accused were generally members of the nuclear family (p<0.001). When compared to those who had not been exposed to penetration, most of those who had been exposed to it were determined to apply later (after 10 days) to judicial institutions (77.8%, p<0.01). The education and awareness of persons, such as teachers and physicians, who may confront incestuous relationships rather frequently are very important in the protection of children and in their adaptation to society.

[Forensic medicine approach to bone fractures in the framework of the new Turkish penal code]. / Yeni Türk Ceza Kanunu çerçevesinde kemik kiriklarina adli tibbi yaklasim.

BACKGROUND: "Fractures of the body" is a new definition in which the punishment for "aggravated injury in the end" is delineated in the new Turkish Penal Code (Article 87, Section 3). In the current study, we intended to evaluate the fact-evaluation reports of injuries with broken bones in the framework of the new Turkish Penal Code, which went into effect on 1 June 2005. METHODS: Of the 842 forensic reports of our Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Department of Forensic Medicine, 306 cases with bone fractures were determined between 1 June 2005 and 31 December 2008. RESULTS: Traffic accidents were determined as the most common cause of all broken bone cases (n=183, 59.8%). One hundred and eight of the cases (35.3%) were determined to have fracture in the head area, with life endangered in 61.1% (n=187) of all cases. CONCLUSION: All traumatic phenomena are considered judicial cases. Forensic experts need to report on institutions to ensure they are complying with the regulations, and their work in this area is widely considered to be useful. However, in current circumstances, the doctor responsible for all forensic reports required to edit the case should be applied to broken bones to not fall into the legal procedures and practices need-to-know basis.

Intensity and localization of trauma in non-fatal electrical injuries.

BACKGROUND: Electrical injuries currently remain a worldwide problem. In Turkey, burns are relatively small in number among injuries overall, but they continue to be a major public health problem. Electrical injuries may occur due to high- or low-voltage contact. Injuries due to low voltage usually occur at home. High-voltage injuries are usually work-related and result from a shorter contact, but may cause serious tissue destruction and secondary injuries. METHODS: The objective of this study was to review a medical institution's experience with electrical injuries between 1997-2005. The institution admitted 55 electrical injury cases throughout this period. A computerized burns registry was used for data collection and analysis. RESULTS: The burn causes differed among age groups and between the sexes, with males constituting 89.1% of the electrical burn patients. Forty-one of the injuries were due to high voltage whereas 14 injuries were due to low voltage. Complications were most common in the high-voltage group. Mean length of stay was longest in this group, at 33.69+/-21.13 days, and the patients in this group also required the most operations. CONCLUSION: Work-related activity was responsible for the majority of these high-voltage injuries, with the most common occupations being linemen and electricians. These patients tended to be younger men in the prime of their working lives. Our study underlines the need for stronger efforts aimed at prevention, such as better public education and strict regulations regarding the distribution and use of electricity.

Effects of proadrenomedullin N-terminal 20 peptide and calcitonin on isolated perfused rat hearts.

OBJECTIVE: There are evidences that proadrenomedullin N-terminal 20 peptide (PAMP) and calcitonin may be involved in cardiovascular function. Therefore, we studied effects of rat PAMP and human PAMP as well as rat calcitonin and salmon calcitonin on coronary perfusion pressure, heart rate and contractile force. METHODS: Isolated rat hearts were perfused under constant flow condition and rat PAMP (1.10 and 100 nM), human PAMP (1,10 and 100 nM), rat calcitonin (10.100 and 1000 nM) or salmon calcitonin (10.100 and 1000 nM) were infused to the hearts. Coronary perfusion pressure, heart rate, left ventricular developed pressure and +dP/dtmax were measured. Statistical analysis was performed using repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni posthoc tests. RESULTS: Rat PAMP (1.10 and 100 nM) did not alter perfusion pressure. However, it increased heart rate from 257.83+/-23.89 to 282+/-24.98 beats/min (p<0.001), from 259.83+/-25.05 to 289.8+/-19.5 beats/min (p<0.001) and from 249.66+/-19.19 to 280.50+/-25.26 beats/min (p<0.001) for 1.10 and 100 nM, respectively. Rat PAMP decreased left ventricular developed pressure from 90.5+/-18.5 to 79+/-15.3 mmHg (p<0.05), from 88.00+/-10.12 to 73.00+/-12.38 mmHg (p<0.05) and from 79.83+/-8.98 to 64.83+/-10.12 mmHg (p<0.05) for 1.10 and 100 nM, respectively. The peptide also decreased +dP/dtmax from 3710.5+/-370.6 to 3223.8+/-261.1 mmHg s-1 (p<0.001), from 3683.16+/-327.27 to 3040.6+/-423.8 mmHg s-1 (p<0.01) and from 3746.16+/-315.76 to 3009.83+/-204.64 mmHg s-1 (p<0.001) for 1.10 and 100 nM, respectively. Rat calcitonin (10.100 and 1000 nM) did not change perfusion pressure but it decreased heart rate from 269.16+/-22.6 to 253.6+/-22.84 beats/min (p<0.05), from 263.8+/-27.3 to 247.00+/-36.63 beats/min (p<0.05) and from 285.0+/-32.4 to 264.00+/-39.83 beats/min (p<0.01) for 10.100 and 1000 nM, respectively. Rat calcitonin did not significantly affect left ventricular developed pressure. Human PAMP or salmon calcitonin did not change perfusion pressure, heart rate and left ventricular developed pressure. CONCLUSION: We conclude that rat PAMP may induce positive chronotropic and negative inotropic effect while rat calcitonin may produce a negative chronotropic effect. Human PAMP or salmon calcitonin could not alter perfusion pressure, heart rate and contractility in isolated, perfused rat hearts.

Clinical implication of vascular and dimensional aspects of the cricothyroid space in the Turkish population.

OBJECTIVE: Cricothyroid space (CS) is one of the thinnest part in the framework of the larynx. The close relations of CS to the intralaryngeal subglottic area increase its anatomical importance. The aim of this study was to establish topographic distribution and the number of perforating vessels lying towards the intralaryngeal subglottic region and finding the calibrations of these vessels, thus revealing an index for the Turkish population. METHODS: In this study, 5 women and 45 men autopsy materials that had no pathology or previous surgery in the area were examined during the period February to November 2003. All specimens in this study were selected randomly from the criminal lab of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Justice, Istanbul, Turkey. Microdissections were made by SMZ 10 Stereomicroscope. Superficial vascular structures of the membrane cricothyroidea at CS and their crossing places (foramens) to the intralaryngeal area, their numbers and localizations in relation to the midline (right/left and cranial/caudal) and their diameters were established. RESULTS: In the larynx dissections, which were made in 50 cases, a total of 180 vessels were seen. Seventy-eight vessels were situated on the middle line (cranial and caudal). Fifty-three vessels were at right side (cranial and caudal) and 49 vessels were at left side (cranial and caudal). In 20 specimens 2-4 vessels arrangement were passing through the foramen to the intralaryngeal subglottic area. Among these foramens, 20 of them consisted of 2 vessels (16 cranial, 4 caudal), 4 of 3 vessels (3 cranial, 1 caudal) and only one foramen was consist of 4 vessels (cranial). CONCLUSION: The cricothyroid area is an anatomical compartment enclosed by a connective tissue membrane and connected to the adjacent laryngeal region by vessels. This region is important with regard to surgical procedures, spread of laryngeal cancer and traumatic lesions of the larynx. Therefore, the clinical and surgical importance of vascular anatomy and the dimension of the cricothyroid space should be given emphasis in our population.

Children's rights and a sample study on accidents in children groups aged 0-5 years old in the light of parents' responsibility in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: Most frequent reasons for the accidents seen in children under 5 years of age who have a right to be cared and protected are negligence and carelessness. In this study, judicial cases were compiled from children between the age of 0 to 5, who had been injured due to severe family negligence. METHODS: Files of cases were obtained from archives with file numbers, indicating cases obtained from the records of the hospital and police were studied retrospectively. The gender, age, and type of application of patients, the type of interference, and the results obtained from the procedure were studied. This study encompasses the results of cases at Osmangazi University Training, Practice and Research Hospital, Eskisehir, Turkey, between September 1999 and March 2001. RESULTS: Forty of 113 cases (35.4%) were due to poisoning from drugs. The main reasons were unawareness of children regarding the harm of drugs, putting drugs in reach of children and easy access to drugs from pharmacies without prescription. On the other hand, the recognition of international measures by the Turkish government is a guarantee for the children's rights. CONCLUSION: Our study implies that, as suggested by other researchers, the investigation of measures to prevent injuries due to negligence and the application of these measures will certainly improve the welfare of society.