Citation

Windgassen M, Golembiewski M, Buschmann C. Notfall Rettungsmed. 2022; 25(2): 77-84.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10049-021-00901-0

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Deaths from sharp force violence must be given high priority in Germany, especially in view of the restrictive firearms laws. However, there are no nationwide records. We conducted a retrospective case-by-case analysis to investigate the circumstances of deaths from sharp force violence in the period 2005-2015 in Berlin.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective evaluation of the 10,514 forensic autopsies performed during this period at the Institute for Forensic Medicine of the Charité - University Medicine Berlin was performed.

RESULTS: Of the 191 fatalities from sharp force violence (1.8% of all autopsies), 52.9% were suicides and 40.8% were homicides. In both suicides and homicides, bleeding to death was the majority cause of death, with an increased incidence of "hemato-/pneumothorax" and "blood aspiration" among homicides. While in suicides the fatal injury or injuries were mostly found in the area of the upper extremities, victims of homicidal violence were fatally injured mostly in the chest region.

CONCLUSIONS: The relevance of fatalities from sharp force violence as well as emergency medical and forensic specifics are elaborated. In particular, the importance of hemorrhage control and the relevance of minithoracostomy in traumatic circulatory arrest with penetrating thoracic injury becomes clear. Due to the good availability of appropriate weapons, violent crimes by means of sharp force will continue to play an important role in the future with regard to forensic and emergency medical aspects. © 2021, Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.

Language: de

Keywords

human; violence; Homicide; homicide; suicide; Autopsy; Germany; Review; autopsy; cause of death; forensic medicine; Emergency medical services; emergency medicine; death; major clinical study; retrospective study; bleeding; emergency health service; fatality; thorax injury; hematothorax; arm injury; pneumothorax; aspiration; hemostasis; sharps injury; Injury pattern/sharp force; Suicide, completed; thoracostomy