EVALUATION OF FORENSIC AUTOPSIES OF THE ELDERLY PEOPLE IN SIVAS

Abstract

Girifl:Yafll>l>k fizyolojik bir olay olup 65 yafl ve üzeri yafl grubunu oluflturmaktad>r. Bu çal>flma-da adli nitelikli yafll> ölüm olgular>na ait sosyodemografik ve adli t>bbi veriler ile otopsi bulgular>-n>n tart>fl>lmas> amaçlanm>flt>r. Gereç ve Yöntem:Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi Hastanesi morgunda 2006-2009 y>llar> aras>nda-ki dört y>ll>k süreçte adli otopsileri yap>lan toplam 540 olgudan 123'ü yafll> ölümü olarak de¤er-lendirilmifltir. Olgular cinsiyet, yafl, olay yeri incelemesine göre olay türü, ölüm tarihi, olay yeri vemekan>, otopsi bulgular> gibi sosyodemografik ve adli t>bbi yönden incelenmifltir.Bulgular:Olgular>n %73.2'si erkek olup 65-96 yafllar aras>ndaki tüm olgulardan ço¤unlu¤u(%60.2) 65-74 yafl grubunu oluflturdu¤u, olay türleri olarak en fazla (%41.5) flüpheli ölüm olgu-lar>n>n oldu¤u görülmüfltür. Olay tarihine göre ço¤unlu¤unun ilkbahar mevsiminde (%32.5) oldu-¤u belirlenmifltir.Sonuç: Yafll> adli olgular>n ölüm nedenleri tüm adli olgularda oldu¤u gibi önem tafl>maktad>r.Ölümün meydana geldi¤i koflullar, olay yeri incelemesi, ölü muayene ve otopsi incelemesi, labo-ratuar tetkiki ile adli tahkikat evrak> de¤erlendirilmeden orijin tespiti yap>lmamal>d>r. Bu çal>flmadaflüpheli ölümlerden sonra trafik kazalar>n>n yer ald>¤>, bunu düflme, as>, zehirlenme, ateflli silah ya-ralanmalar> ve donman>n izledi¤i görülmektedir

Introduction: Aging is a physiological phenomenon, and the elderly group constitutes individuals aged 65 years and over. In this study we aimed to discuss socio-demographic and forensic medicine investigations in the elderly, together with autopsy findings. Materials and Method: Among a total of 540 cases autopsied for judicial reasons duringa four-year period in the morgue of Cumhuriyet University Hospital, 123 of themwere evaluated as cases of elderly death. The cases were analyzed with respect to sociodemographic and forensic medicine parameters: gender, age, type of death according to crime sceneinvestigation, date of death, crime scene and autopsy findings.Results: The majority of elderly deaths, whose cause of death was frequently (41.5%)reported as associated with suspicious causes, were of male gender aged between 65-96years(73.2%), with most (60.2%) belonging to the 65-74 age group. A greater number (32.5%)of fatal events occurred during the spring months. Conclusion: The causes of deaths of the elderly forensic cases are very important, as theyare in all criminal cases. Circumstances of death, crime scene investigations, necropsic examination, laboratory analysis, and assessment of medicolegal investigation documents should be performed in the determination of manner of death. Therefore, if detailed examination is not possible then manner of death can not be exactly determined. In this study, the most common causewas suspicious deaths, followed by traffic accidents, falls from a height, hanging, poisoning, firearm injuries, and freezing to death