Child abuse, mental health, mandatory reporting law

WOS: 000259504800001Objective: The aims of the present study were to present the follow-up findings of abuse cases whose legal reporting procedures initiated by clinicians, to inform about the way of legal reporting procedures and to discuss this subject from legal, ethical and treatment point of views. Methods: Sixteen abuse cases whose legal reporting procedure was initiated by physicians were included in the study. Data were gathered from patient file records, retrospectively. Findings: The causes for the legal reporting were sexual abuse in 81.3% (n=13), neglect in 18.8% (n=3), physical abuse in 6.3% (n=1) and emotional abuse in 6.3% (n=1) of the cases. Among these cases, 33.8% (n=7) were dislodged from the milieu of abuse, where as 81.3% (n=13) of them were taken under custodial care of social services. There was not any follow-up information about 18.8% (n=3) of the cases, 81.3% (n=13) of cases have been treated for their psychiatric symptoms. Conclusion: On the contrary of the anticipation of many people, legal reporting procedures may be useful for most of the abuse cases. The law for mandatory reporting of abuse and the ways of legal procedures should be considered and included in general medical curriculum. Clinical studies including large samples are warranted in this issue to reflect the exact nature of the abuse in society

Malpractice and system of expertise in anaesthetic procedures in Turkey

Deaths which occur during the administration of anaesthetics require medicolegal investigations. The objective of this study is to form a database for future comparisons related to anaesthetic-associated malpractice claims and also to investigate the system of expertise, pertaining to such procedures

Distribution of Postmortem Tissue in Acute Endosulfan Poisoining: Case Report

In this study, we aimed to determine the distribution of endosulfan in the two postmortem cases, who died due to accidental poisoning. The blood, liver, kidney, brain and stomach content samples obtained from cases were studied with Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). In the biologic samples, endosulfan isomer (α-Endosulfan and β- Endosulfan) and metabolites (endosulfan sulfate and endosulfan ether) levels were examined. The endosulfan concentrations in the blood were determined as: α- endosulfan was 0.47 mg/l and β-endosulfan was 0.05 mg/l in the first case; α-endofulsan was 0.24 mg/l and β-endosulfan was 0.03 mg/l in the second case. The highest levels of endosulfan were found in the stomach contents. The endosulfan concentrations in the stomach contents were determined as: α-endofulsan was 2.4 mg/kg and β-endosulfan was 1.1 mg/kg in the first case, α- endosulfan was 3.4 mg/kg and β-endosulfan was 2.65 mg/kg in the second case. The liver, brain and the kidney; α- endosulfan, β-endosulfan, endosulfan sulfate and endosulfan ether levels of both cases were examined in our studies as well. [Cukurova Med J 2013; 38(3.000): 515-519

Suicide among children and adolescents: Data from Cukurova, Turkey

WOS: 000250132300002PubMed ID: 17564834The purpose of this study was to investigate the general properties of suicide among children and adolescents in our region, and to evaluate the results in the light of the literature. The autopsy records of the morgue of the Adana branch of the Turkish Forensic Medicine Council were investigated retrospectively. Focus of the study was shaped by suicide cases in children and adolescents (under 18) between the years of 1997-2005. All of the cases were analyzed with regard to age, sex, method of suicide, and year. The childhood and adolescent (0-18 years) deaths comprised 24.4% (n: 1390) of all medico-legal autopsy cases (n: 6808). The origin of death in 186 (13.4%) cases involving victims younger than 18 years of age was suicide. The majority of suicide cases (62.9% n: 117) were females. Adolescents of 16-18 years of age constituted the overwhelming majority (70.43% n: 131) of all childhood suicides. Mean age was 16.13. The most frequent method of suicide was shooting in males, and poisoning in females. However, hanging was the most frequent method (34.41% n: 64) overall

An Unusual Cause of Death at Preschool Age Scalding by Hot Milk

WOS: 000275250900016PubMed ID: 20032773Scalding is one of the most painful and devastating burn injuries a child can suffer. Victims are generally scalded by splashed or spilled hot fluids in the home environment. Interestingly, scalding by hot milk is a common cause of burns in rural parts of Turkey. This study aimed to identify the general features of scalding by hot milk, and to make the authorities aware of this problem through educational programs for parents and caregivers. The records of the Council of Forensic Medicine Adana Group Administration and public prosecutor's office were used. Forty-four deaths in children of preschool age (under 6) due to scalding by hot milk during 2001-2005 were analyzed. Scalding with hot milk constituted 1.05% of all medico-legal deaths (4183) during the period considered. Twenty-five (56.81%) of the victims were male while 19 (43.19%) were female. The victims' ages ranged between 18 months and 6 years, with a mean age of 3.03. Scalding by hot milk appears to be an important public health problem, especially in rural areas of Turkey. Educational programs for families and caregivers and implementation of simple safety measures will decrease the prevalence of deaths due to such preventable injuries

False allegation in abuse cases: a case report

WOS: 000259504800008Abuse and its complications are the important part of child and adolescent psychiatry services. Professionals who worked in this area can be faced with false abuse allegation. Treatment, ethic and forensic necessity are the most important difficulties in these cases. The aims of this study are to inform about of the false allegation case whose legal reporting procedures initiated by clinicians and to discuss this case from psychiatric, forensic and ethical point of views

Gender decision in disorders of sex development (DSD) patients: 20 years' experience

WOS: 000485922403084