Violent death in Mexican children: Could fatalities be prevented?

Abstract

A retrospective case-series study with forensic autopsies practiced for a 5-year period. From 3,089 autopsies practiced, 89 cases (2.9%) were children under 10 years of age. Mechanical agents had the highest frequency (n = 64, 71.9%), and traumatic brain injury was the leading cause of death. Natural death cases (biological agents) were the second major cause of death in our study (n = 16; 18%), and tuberculosis was the main cause of this group (n = 7; 100% males). One case was HIV positive. Children dead by natural causes endured mild-to-severe cases of malnutrition. Forensic data must be considered for a better understanding of fatalities occurred in children.

Keywords

• infant mortality rate
• neglect
• traumatic brain injury
• infectious diseases
• violence prevention
• sudden unexpected infant death