EPIDEMIOLOGICAL AND MEDICO-LEGAL ASPECTS OF FATAL DOMESTIC ACCIDENTS IN CHILDREN IN ABIDJAN (COTE D’IVOIRE)

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to describe the fatal domestic accidents of minors in order to ensure a state of health surveillance allowing better prevention of this type of death.
Methods: This was a retrospective and descriptive study conducted over a period of 06 years (2013 to 2018) on children who died accidentally at home and underwent external examination and/or autopsy forensic.
Results: Child fatal accidents at home accounted for 35.4% (51/144) of all fatal accidents at home during the study period. The majority of victims were in the 0 to 4 age group (49%) and were male (68.6%). These accidents most often occurred in the bedroom (66.7%), Sundays and Mondays and in particular between 12 am and 5 am 59 minutes (45.1%). They were most often due to burns (64.7%) including thermal burns (56.9%) and mechanical asphyxia (21.6%) in this case by suffocation during landslides, the drowning being rare (3.9%). Sometimes it was traumatic death (9.8%) and rarely toxic death (3.9%).
Conclusion: The prevention of fatal childhood accidents in the home requires increased parental supervision as well as appropriate home furnishings including the implementation of safety measures.