Looking at trauma and deaths: Diyarbakir city in Turkey

There were 329 trauma related deaths in Diyarbakir in 1997. Of these 226 were male (69%) and 103 were female (31%). The median age was 20 years old (range 1-82 years). Of the deaths, 30.5% were under 10, 51% were under 20 and 67% were under 30 years old. Two hundred and eleven deaths occurred in the hospital while 118 deaths occurred prehospital. Seventy-seven percent of hospital deaths (191) occurred in the first day. The most common cause of death was multiple injuries (151, 46%). Head injuries were the main reason for 128 deaths (46%). The most common mechanism of death was motor vehicle accident (131, 40%). The second was falls from a residential building (117, 33.7%). (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.