A 4-year retrospective evaluation of assault cases presenting to the emergency department

Aim: Any event resulting from external factors that may lead to the deterioration of an individual's physical and mental health or death is considered a forensic case. Assault is one of the most common forensic cases presenting to emergency departments. In our study, we aimed to examine the presentation frequency of cases admitted to the hospital after assault according to age, gender, season, and time of day, and to share these findings with the literature.

Materials and Methods: In this study, the records of 858 patients who presented to Şanlıurfa Harran University Hospital due to assault between 01.01.2021 and 31.12.2024 were retrospectively analyzed. The data was obtained from the Hospital Information Management System (Fonet) based on International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10) codes. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 and Microsoft Excel 2013 programs.

Results: The mean age of the 858 cases included in our study was 31.45 ± 14.90 years; 689 (80.30%) of the cases were male and 169 (19.70%) were female. The most frequent age range for cases presenting to the emergency department was 18-34 years, accounting for 47.09% (n = 404); while the least frequent group was the 65 years and older age range, accounting for 9.32% (n = 80). When assault cases were examined by season and time of day, it was determined that the highest number of presentations occurred in the summer with 238 cases (27.74%), and the lowest in the winter with 182 cases (21.21%). The distribution of assault cases by time of day showed that the most frequent presentation time was between 12:00-17:59, with 344 cases (40.09%).

Conclusions: Assault is one of the most common causes of presentation to emergency departments following trauma. In this study, it was determined that cases presenting to the emergency department due to assault were predominantly young and middle-aged males, with the 18-34 age group identified as being at the highest risk. Assault cases showed a seasonal increase, peaking in the summer months, and were concentrated in the 12:00-17:59 time interval during the day. These findings highlight the importance of considering risk groups and time frames in the management of assault cases presenting to the emergency department. It was concluded that emergency departments should be prepared for an increase in the number of forensic assault cases, particularly during the summer months and at specific times of the day.