@article{article_1009150, title={THE EFFECT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON FORENSIC CASES OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES}, journal={Ankara Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi Tıp Dergisi}, volume={54}, pages={465–470}, year={2022}, DOI={10.20492/aeahtd.1009150}, author={Bekgöz, Burak and Şan, İshak}, keywords={COVID-19, Suicide, Emergency Medical Services}, abstract={Aim The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on forensic cases treated by Emergency Medical Services compared to the pre-pandemic periods. Material and Methods The study was designed to evaluate the Emergency Medical Services cases retrospectively. We included forensic cases data covering pandemic period (period A - from March 11, 2020 to March 10, 2021) and pre-pandemic period (period B - from March 11 and period C - 2019 to March 10, 2020) in Ankara, Turkey. Results We included a total of 117,753 patients. The most common type of forensic case in all periods was traffic accidents (62.9%). This was followed by assaults (14.1%) and suicides (8.2%). The number of traffic accidents was found to be lower during the pandemic period (60.3%) than in other periods (p <0.001). In addition, suicides (9.2%), injuries with sharp/blunt objects (7.5%) were also higher in the pandemic period compared to the pre-pandemic periods (p <0.001). Most of the cases had yellow triage code (48.6%). Considering the triage codes, during the pandemic period, the green-coded cases decreased and black-coded cases increased compared to pre-pandemic. Conclusion The number of forensic cases in the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly lower than in the pre-pandemic periods. In addition, suicide cases and sharp/blunt object injuries were more frequent in the pandemic period than in the pre-pandemic periods. Traffic accidents were still the most frequent despite the lockdowns during the pandemic period.}, number={3}, publisher={Sağlık Bakanlığı Ankara Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi}, organization={None}