Review of 89 autopsies of child deaths from violence and neglect in the Suez Canal area, Egypt

Abstract

In Egypt there are no true data about the incidences of child deaths from violence and neglect. The study aims to investigate child deaths associated with violence or neglect. Cases of suspected child deaths from 2000 to 2007 in the Suez Canal area were retrospectively reviewed. Cases were collected from the database of the Forensic Institution of Port-Said. A medico-legal autopsy had been carried out for all cases. Of the 89 cases, 56 were males and 33 were females.Resultsrevealed that child deaths were 41.6% in newborns less than one month old, 29.2% in the age group between 15 and 18years old, and 5.6% in the age group between 10 and 14years old. The majority of perpetrators were unknown (44.95%), followed by victim’s colleagues and neighbors (22.47%). Neglect with no outward signs represented the majority of child deaths (41.57%). Blunt trauma used in an abusive manner during street arguments was the second cause of homicidal deaths (19.1%).The highest rate of child deaths was in newborns and early youth. There is need for further examination of child fatality profiles associated with abuse and neglect in this age group and an increase in community outreach efforts to prevent fatal child abuse in Egypt.