Blunt Abdominal Trauma Analysis in the Deaths due to Traffic Accidents in Erzurum, Turkey

Background: Traffic accidents are one of the most common causes of death in many countries. Death-causing lesions mostly occur in the head-neck, chest, and abdominal region, respectively. Traffic accidents are an important cause of blunt abdominal trauma. Data on abdominal trauma in fatal traffic accidents are limited in autopsy series. Objectives: In this study, we aimed to determine the frequency of abdominal trauma, the severity of trauma and its effects on the cause of death in traffic accident deaths. Methods: A retrospective analysis of autopsy cases of the Morgue Department of the Council of Forensic Medicine, Erzurum Branch between January 2015 - June 2019 was conducted. The sample size was determined using the Epi-Info version 7 statistics program. Results: The mean age of the cases was 41.1 years (sd:23.4; min:1 - max:96); 76.1% were male. Pre-hospital death occurred in 53.4%, while in the remaining 46.6%, death occurred during hospitalisation. 31.1% of the cases had abdominal trauma. Most commonly injured solid organ was liver in 57.3% of the abdominal trauma cases. Abdominal traumas and liver injuries were more common in pre-hospital deaths, especially in the accident scene deaths (p<.001). Besides, type A liver injury was more common in pre-hospital deaths (p=.002). Conclusions: Liver trauma is one of the leading causes of pre-hospital deaths due to traffic accidents. Type A liver traumas were more lethal.