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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Acute management of the sexual assault victim.

Sexual assault victims usually seek emergency medical care at urban hospitals. The incidence of over 52,000 cases a year reported by the FBI does not include instances in which the victim died, cases of statutory rape (victim below the age of consent), or cases not confirmed by the police. It is well known that sexual assault is one of the most unreported crimes. The incidence of this crime in affluent communities is unknown. Rape occurs in any community but nonhospital professional services may be more easily available in some.The office practitioner may feel ill-equipped to deal with this kind of problem because such patients seldom come to a private office; although in a survey done in 1976, 33 percent of family practitioners stated that they see several rape victims each year. (1) The practitioner may be hesitant about getting involved in litigation. Experience indicates that by following the approach described and documenting facts clearly, physicians will prevent disruption of their busy schedules by unfamiliar court routines, and at the same time provide what society, the victim, and the alleged assailant expect of him as a member of the health care team.

Female↗
PubMed2026

Feasibility and acceptability of skills training in affective recovery (STAR) video and TextSTAR text message program for recent sexual assault survivors.

Background: Sexual assault (SA) affects more than 50% of women in the United States and is associated with elevated risk for impairing posttraumatic stress symptoms and substance, particularly opioid, misuse. Intervening following SA exposure could attenuate these risks.Objective: This study examined the acceptability and feasibility of a 17-minute video, Skills Training in Affective Recovery (STAR) and a 21-day text message program (TextSTAR), that were delivered in the acute post-SA period to prevent the onset or escalation of posttraumatic stress symptoms and substance misuse. The interventions provide psychoeducation about trauma, strategies to reduce fear and avoidance, suggestions to increase social support, and coping strategies for substance use.Method: Participants were 50 women age 18 or older who presented for a Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Exam (SAMFE) within seven days of a SA. Using a Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Controlled Trial (SMART) design, participants were randomized to receive the STAR video (n = 25) or no video (n = 25) at the SAMFE. Those who received the video answered questions about video acceptability immediately after viewing the video. At 1-week post-SAMFE, participants completed online questionnaires about substance use and posttraumatic stress; those above threshold on acute stress or opioid use (n = 36) were randomized to TextSTAR (n = 18) or no-text program (n = 18). Participants completed weekly online surveys 2-4 weeks post-SAMFE about symptoms and text program acceptability.Results: Participants found STAR and TextSTAR at least moderately acceptable; 80% who received STAR found it extremely acceptable while 60-90% (depending on timepoint) who received TextSTAR found it at least moderately acceptable. Our ability to enroll 50 participants and retain 94% at 1 week and 90% at 4 weeks suggests the intervention trial is feasible.Conclusions: STAR and TextSTAR are acceptable and feasible brief interventions for recent sexual assault survivors.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT06456190.

Humans↗
PubMed2022

Sex Differences in Health Conditions Associated with Sexual Assault in a Large Hospital Population.

INTRODUCTION: Sexual assault is an urgent public health concern with both immediate and long-lasting health consequences, affecting 44% of women and 25% of men during their lifetimes. Large studies are needed to understand the unique healthcare needs of this patient population. METHODS: We mined clinical notes to identify patients with a history of sexual assault in the electronic health record (EHR) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), a large university hospital in the Southeastern USA, from 1989 to 2021 (N = 3,376,424). Using a phenome-wide case-control study, we identified diagnoses co-occurring with disclosures of sexual assault. We performed interaction tests to examine whether sex modified any of these associations. Association analyses were restricted to a subset of patients receiving regular care at VUMC (N = 833,185). RESULTS: The phenotyping approach identified 14,496 individuals (0.43%) across the VUMC-EHR with documentation of sexual assault and achieved a positive predictive value of 93.0% (95% confidence interval = 85.6-97.0%), determined by manual patient chart review. Out of 1,703 clinical diagnoses tested across all subgroup analyses, 465 were associated with sexual assault. Sex-by-trauma interaction analysis revealed 55 sex-differential associations and demonstrated increased odds of psychiatric diagnoses in male survivors. DISCUSSION: This case-control study identified associations between disclosures of sexual assault and hundreds of health conditions, many of which demonstrated sex-differential effects. The findings of this study suggest that patients who have experienced sexual assault are at risk for developing wide-ranging medical and psychiatric comorbidities and that male survivors may be particularly vulnerable to developing mental illness.

Clinical informatics↗
PubMed1979

Juvenile male sexual assaulters.

This study compares the psychiatric, neurological, and psychoeducational status of sexually assaultive male juveniles and other violent juveniles. The authors found that juvenile sexual assaulters suffered from neuropsychiatric problems similar to those of other violent juveniles, had committed violent acts other than sexual assault, and had had seriously aberrant behavior since early childhood. The findings contradict prevailing assumptions that sexual assaults by juveniles are rare occurrences and that juvenile sex offenders have low rates of recidivism. Theoretical and treatment implications are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Survey of incidence of and physicians' attitudes toward sexual assault.

In a recent pilot project, the number of women treated by private physicians for sexual assault was surveyed, and information was obtained regarding the physicin's knowledge of, and attitudes toward, issues related to sexual assault. The high incidence rates for treatment of rape by private physicians that have been speculated in the literature were not confirmed by the survey results. Sixty-seven percent of the 458 physicians responding to the survey reported seeing no rape victims during the study year. Since, however, the proportion of physicians seeing rape victims may show regional variations, this result should not be applied too generally. Ten factual questions about rape were sent to more than 1,000 physicians and given to 258 undergraduate psychology students of both sexes. Both the responding physicians and the students answered approximately 60 percent of the questions correctly (that is, selected the answers that best reflect current understanding about sexual assault). The respondents' attitudes toward sexual assault were inferred from the direction of their responses. Physicians were seen to share attitudes similar to those of the male students, but not of the female students. The female students tended to overestimate the incidence of rape, the physical trauma associated with it, and the timing of its psychological after effects.

Attitude↗
PubMed1979

Epidemiology and management of sexual assault victims.

One hundred and twenty-six sexual assault victims were examined and treated at the Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island from July 1 1976, through June 30, 1977. Sixty-six were less than 18 years of age, and of this group, 54 were less than 16 years of age, and 26 of these were prepubertal. Evidentiary examination was performed on 100 victims. No pregnancies resulted, and no victim acquired syphilis from the assault. Five patients had positive cultures for gonorrhea at the time of initial examination and all were cured by therapy. Epidemiologic correlates of sexual assault are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Medical management of the sexually assaulted woman.

Public concern about the sexual assault victim demands that the medical profession be better prepared to evaluate such patients. Modern guidelines for the medical evaluation and treatment of such victims are provided. A list of supplies for a "rape tray" and guidelines for obtaining laboratory tests are included. A detailed patient consent form and laboratory chain of evidence form will facilitate care. A plea is made for legislative support to pay for lab work and the establishment of state or national laboratories equipped to handle evidentiary material.

Female↗
PubMed2026

Atypical short tandem repeat allelic patterns in a sexual assault case involving hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Short tandem repeat (STR) profiling is a cornerstone of forensic DNA analysis, particularly during criminal investigations. However, certain clinical conditions, such as bone marrow transplantation, can complicate interpretation. To illustrate the impact of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation on forensic STR analysis, this case report details a sexual assault investigation involving a female victim who had previously received a bone marrow transplant from a female donor. A female sexual assault victim underwent forensic examination, during which multiple biological swabs were collected. STR profiling was conducted on the victim's blood, fingernail, buccal, breast, hip, vulvar, vaginal, cervical samples, panty, and brassiere. As conflicting profiles were found, a detailed medical history was collected, and hair follicle analysis was performed to confirm the origin of the STR profiles. Blood STR profiling revealed a single female genotype, while multiple swabs, including vaginal and cervical samples, showed a second female STR profile alongside the first. Notably, the consistency and distribution of the mixed profile across samples reduced the likelihood of laboratory contamination. The medical history of the victim revealed a prior history of allogeneic bone marrow transplant. Hair follicle analysis identified the recipient's original genotype, confirming that the secondary STR profile originated from the donor. Bone marrow transplantation may result in a mixed STR profile, potentially leading to misidentification or misinterpretation of forensic evidence. Awareness of transplant history is crucial during forensic evaluations. However, such clinical history is currently not included in standard sexual-assault evidence forms, underscoring the need for procedural updates.

Female↗
PubMed1978

Step-by-step management of female victims of sexual assault.

Various authors have published advice on the management of victims of sexual assault--male and female. Most published accounts provide general advice, ordered according to theoretical considerations rather than to the chronological sequence of tasks to be performed. Our experience has been that a task list sequenced in chronological fashion is very useful in helping the attending doctor to remember what to do and how to do it. The step-by-step list used for women seen at Perth's Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) is presented here.

Australia↗
PubMed1979

[Textile fibres under the prepuce--criminalistic proof for a sexual assault (author's transl)].

1. One day after a sexual assault the male suspect was investigated by a physician who found yellow textile fibres on his penis. 2. The police secured yellow fibres from the bed-cover, the socks and the panties of the victim. 3. At the laboratory the four kinds of fibres were analyzed. The fibres from the bed and the penis gave identical results by six different methods.

Criminology↗
PubMed1978

Rape: sexual assault.

Forcible rape is a violent crime, as are all cases of sexual assault. In more than one-third of the cases, the victims are children, and a significant number of victims are elderly women. Although few of these victims have serious physical injuries, they all suffer psychological trauma that will affect their lives and the lives of those around them. All of these victims need medical care and psychologic counseling if they are to adjust and reenter society without difficulty.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Abnormal Papanicolaou smears found in victims of sexual assault.

Four women, at the time of treatment for rape, were concurrently found to have abnormal Papanicolaou (Pap) smears. It is suggested that all women who seek emergency care after sexual assault have Pap smears taken at that time if there is no record of a negative Pap smear within the preceding six months.

Adult↗