Fatal traumatic heart wounds: review of 160 autopsy cases.
BACKGROUND
Despite many published retrospective analyses on cardiac injuries in treated patients, there is a striking scarcity of population-based studies that include autopsies.


OBJECTIVE
To provide data on fatal traumatic heart wounds in autopsied cases.


METHODS
We reviewed 2,487 medico-legal autopsy records from the morgue of the Bursa branch of the Turkish Council of Forensic Medicine for the period 1997-2001.


RESULTS
Of these cases, 160 (6.4%) had cardiac injury; 13.8% were females and 86.2% males, and the mean age was 35.9 years (range 4-65). The most common cause of heart wounds was penetrating trauma (87.5%), namely sharp injuries (48.1%) and firearm injuries (39.4%). The two most common causes of blunt heart wounds were traffic accidents (5.6%) and falls from a height (5%). Rupture was present in 96.9% of the cases, and isolated left ventricle and isolated right ventricle were ruptured in 31.3% and 23.8%, respectively. In penetrating injury the risk of ventricle rupture was higher than of atrium rupture. Alcohol was detected in 16.3% of cases. Only 3.5% of the penetrating cardiac injury cases and 5% of the blunt cardiac injury cases were admitted to hospital.


CONCLUSIONS
Given that only a very low percentage of the patients who sustain cardiac injury reach hospital alive, population-based studies, especially autopsy results, should be conducted to define the characteristics of cardiac injuries.
Fedakar
Recep
R
Department of Forensic Medicine, Uludağ University Medical School, Bursa, Turkey. fedakar@uludag.edu.tr
Türkmen
Nursel
N
Durak
Dilek
D
Gündoğmuş
Umit Naci
UN
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D001344:Autopsy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006335:Heart Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*