Violence-Related Emergency Medical Services Encounters in the Anatolian Side of Istanbul: A Retrospective Registry-Based Study.
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness · 2026-09-29 · Registry study
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to describe the epidemiological, clinical, and operational characteristics of violence-related emergency medical services (EMS) encounters recorded on the Anatolian side of Istanbul from 2019 to 2023, to conduct secondary descriptive comparisons by sex, and to identify factors associated with confirmed prehospital death status. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective observational registry-based analysis of records coded as "Violence & Assault." Clinical, operational, and demographic variables were analyzed. Comparisons by sex and confirmed death status were conducted using nonparametric and categorical-data tests. In a secondary exploratory analysis, Firth-penalized multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted associations with confirmed prehospital death status. RESULTS: The sample comprised 29,335 violence-related EMS encounters; most involved young adult males and occurred in urban districts. Most recorded clinical findings were normal or preserved, although a small subgroup showed physiological instability. Several sex-based differences were statistically significant, but their effect sizes were generally small. Confirmed prehospital death was recorded in 132 encounters (0.45%). In the exploratory Firth model, severe respiratory status (aOR 56.02, 95% CI 8.62-364.05), altered consciousness (aOR 10.71, 95% CI 1.67-68.67), and cyanotic skin (aOR 4.24, 95% CI 2.67-6.73) were associated with the highest adjusted odds ratios for confirmed prehospital death. CONCLUSIONS: Violence-related EMS encounters were concentrated among young adult males, and most did not meet the confirmed-death definition. Nevertheless, a clinically important subgroup presented with physiological instability. In the exploratory analysis, confirmed prehospital death was most strongly associated with acute physiological compromise; operational intervals should be interpreted cautiously as potential markers of case complexity and EMS workflow rather than as causal determinants.
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Tags
Mortality & survival · Sex & gender · Urban
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