Neck Trauma Deaths In Brazil: Review Of 541 Cases.

Abstract

Abstract. Neck trauma is associated with high morbidity and mortality. To establish the profile of death by neck trauma in the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte (BH), Brazil, fatal cases subjected to necropsy at the Forensic Medicine Institute of BH 2006 to 2012 were evaluated. A total of 541 necropsy reports were analyzed; most victims were male (82%), single (70%) and non-white (72%). Almost half of the victims were under 30 years old (47%).Penetrating neck trauma was the most prevalent injury (74%), mainly caused by firearm projectiles (54%), and most cases were of homicide victims (67%). Alcohol consumption before death and positive drug tests were found in almost half of the cases (42% and 45%, respectively). Establishing the sociodemographic and behavioral profile of victims as well the intrinsic characteristics of this type of trauma are potentially relevant for identifying the highrisk population and for elaborating intervention strategies.

Results of Selective Non-Operative Management for Penetrating Neck Trauma in 594 patients.

“…The patient profile demonstrated the typical age and gender distribution for trauma victims [6,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. cta was used in 75.4% of our patients; the use of cta varies between institutions and reports [13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”

“…the presence of deep surgical emphysema has been associated with a strong correlation to the presence of aero-digestive injuries [15,16]. However, two recent systematic reviews have demonstrated that cta alone has a low sensitivity and specificity to identify aero-digestive injuries, requiring further investigations or exploration if strong suspicious of oesophageal injury exist [22,23] it is universally accepted that haemodynamically unstable patients will require immediate exploration and that in haemodynamically stable patients the use of cta is favoured over immediate exploration irrespective of zone of penetration [4,5,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23].…”

“…The patient profile demonstrated the typical age and gender distribution for trauma victims [6,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18].…”

“…south africa interpersonal violence and homicide rates are seven times greater than the global rate [6]. Many international studies lack the significant numbers of patients seen in the south african trauma setting [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Madsen et al, published several studies focusing on penetrating neck injuries in the Pietermaritzburg metro area [13][14][15][16].…”

Estudo Transversal dos Óbitos Provocados por Tromboembolismo Pulmonar Necropsiados no Instituto Médico Legal de Belo Horizonte, 2008–2011

“…Localizado na capital do estado de Minas Gerias, o IML/BH é um órgão estadual, vinculado à Polícia Civil, sendo responsável pela investigação médica dos óbitos decorrentes de causas violentas ou suspeitas ocorridas em Belo Horizonte e na maior parte de sua região metropolitana (RMBH) 13…”