MECHANICAL ASPHYXIA IN CHILDHOOD - FORENSIC ASPECTS

Abstract

Mortality is one of the main demographic indicators, which by its nature is important for the population as well as for its structures. A serious problem not only in Bulgaria, but also worldwide, is death in childhood and adolescence. A retrospective statistical study of forensic cases of death due to mechanical asphyxia was conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Deontology at the Faculty of Medicine, Medical University, Sofia, Bulgaria for the period 2006-2015. The age range of the deceased was from 0 to 18 years. The subjects of examination were divided into five age groups, each of which was characterized by its own specific structure of causes of death. The analysis of the data on the main causes of death for each of the age groups made it possible to detect more frequent cases of this type of traumatic death at certain ages and thus to create effective and timely mechanisms for prophylaxis and prevention of these conditions.

Keywords

• mechanical asphyxia
• childhood
• forensic medicine