Injuries due to gender-based violence

OBJECTIVE. To determine the injuries that most often bring patients to the emergency department after gender-based violence so that cases can be identified quickly and proper interventions begin.
MATERIAL AND METHODS. Observational analysis of a retrospective cohort. We included patients identified as victims of genderbased violence treated in our hospital between 2018 and 2022, collecting demographic data and classifying injuries by type and anatomical locations. Descriptive statistics were compiled.
RESULTS. A total of 199 patients were included. The patients usually arrived at night and most often on Fridays. More patients were seen in July and August. On arrival 86.93% of the patients had bruises, 30.15% had wounds, and 5.03% had fractures. The most common profile was a patient with 1 or more bruises on the face and/or neck and associated bruising in another location. The most common face and neck lesions were bruises in the anterolateral cervical region (48.54%).
CONCLUSIONS. We do not extrapolate from this study to draw population-relevant conclusions, but rather to present observations from our hospital that can serve as a starting point for future studies. Understanding the most common patterns of injuries arising from gender-based violence can be useful for acting quickly and breaking the cycle of abuse.