• Behçet Al, Cuma Yildirim, and Sacid Coban.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Gaziantep University Faculty of Medicine, Gaziantep, Turkey. behcetal@gmail.com
• Ulus Travma Acil Cer. 2009 Mar 1;15(2):141-7.

BackgroundWe evaluated the demographic data, mortality rates, fall causes, and post-mortem findings of individuals who fell from heights.MethodsFive hundred thirty-eight patients who sustained injuries after an accidental fall from heights were entered into the study. Our cases were collected prospectively in Batman over a seven- month period.ResultsThe mean age was 12.4+/-3.22 years (3 months-98 years); 56.5% of patients were under 6 years old and 83.5% were under 20 years old. The mean fall height was 3.2+/-2.4 m. The mortality rate was 2.2%, and was highest among the patients who fell from flat-roofed houses. The most common injuries were to the head, and 100% of those who died had a head injury. Six patients were followed because of abdominal bleeding and 141 patients due to extremity fractures; 6.7% of patients were operated on and 83.8% of patients were treated in the emergency department.ConclusionThe results of this study were at variance with literature data with respect to the following: falls from heights were most common in the 0-5 years of age group. Craniocerebral trauma is the most common injury in fatal falls. Males had a higher rate of falls from height than females.

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