Retrospective analysis of forensic cases in refugees admitted to emergency department.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to compare the distribution and frequency of forensic medical events in a refugee group with that of the general population, and thus, extrapolate the problems encountered in the immigrant population. METHODS: Those cases admitted to the emergency department (ED) for any reason that required a forensic examination between January 2016 and June 2018 were investigated retrospectively. RESULTS: A total of 310 refugees were admitted to the ED for forensic medical events. The most common nations of origin of the refugees were Iraq (n = 167), Syria (n = 65), and Afghanistan (n = 28). The median age of the refugees was 24 years old (interquartile range = 17-33). With regard to forensics, the most common reasons for the refugees to present to the ED were motor vehicle accidents 27.4%, assaults 25.8%, employment and industrial accidents 16.1%, and suicide attempts 10.3%. Other than suicide attempts, all of the forensic presentations were more common in the males. The outcomes of the refugee group were as follows 92.3% were discharged, 5.8% were admitted to the hospital, 1% were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), and 1% were transferred. Suicide attempts were the most common reasons for the ICU admissions, while the most common reasons for the hospital admissions were orthopedic injuries. CONCLUSION: In general, the forensic event frequency in the refugee group was lower (p = 0.001); however, this was a single center study, and there could have been unrecorded cases due to an inability to access healthcare assistance, so these results may not be reliable.