Demographic Evaluation of Pediatric Medico-Legal Cases in Casualty

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Paediatric medico-legal cases are important public health problems in the paediatric casualty in India. These cases are among the leading causes of paediatric disabilities and deaths. We conducted a study to evaluate the demographic features of the medico-legal cases who presented to our paediatric casualty. Methodology: In a total of two-year study period, 120 patients were presented in casualty as medico-legal cases. Information about the patients was obtained from hospital records and analysed by us from casualty. Results: 70 male (58.3%) and 50 female (41.6%) patients were included in our study. The majority of the patients were between 10- 14 years of age (n=30; 25.0%). Fall from height was the major complaint (n= 60; 50%) of our patients. Winter was the most common season (n= 37; 30.6%) and January (n=13; 11%) was the most common month for medico-legal admissions. The majority of the patients (n=42; 35%) presented to our emergency room between 18-24 hours. 78 cases (65%) had health risks at the time of presentation. Conclusion: Developing effective & preventive strategies is essential to prevent child injuries. Majority of cases were males and adolescents. There is an urgent need to focus more on this vulnerable age group i.e., adolescent age group. There should be increased awareness among paediatricians about these medico legal cases and improving counselling skills to handle relatives of patients