TITLE:
Correlates of Anogenital Injuries in Adolescent Females
AUTHORS:
Peter V. Bui, Carolyn J. Sachs, Malinda Wheeler
KEYWORDS:
Sexual Assault; Statutory Rape; Female Adolescents; Anogenital Injury; Forensic Nursing
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Clinical Medicine,
Vol.5 No.2,
January
24,
2014
ABSTRACT: Objective: We sought to investigate correlates of
anogenital injuries (AGIs) in adolescents. Methods: Our retrospective
study included sexually assaulted female patients aged 12 to 17 reporting
attempted or completed vaginal or anal penetration between 2002 and 2011. Forensic
nurses performed anogenital examinations using colposcopy, digital
macrovisualization, and toluidine blue dye application. We reviewed case files
for AGIs and demographic and sexual assault characteristics. Results: Of the 1961 sexual assault examinations that met our inclusion criteria,
59.6% displayed AGIs. Our logistic regression model using 1752 examinations
found the following variables associated with less injury: intercourse within 5
days prior to assault (OR 0.72, 95% CI = 0.55 to 0.95); post-coital interval of
49-72 (OR 0.50, 95%
CI = 0.36 to 0.71), 73-96 (OR 0.41, 95%
CI = 0.25 to 0.68), and 97-120 hours (OR 0.26,
95% CI = 0.13 to 0.51). Only lack of prior sexual experience was associated
with increased injury (OR 2.01, 95% CI = 1.58 to 2.55). Conclusions:
In our adolescent patient population, examination findings of AGIs correlate
with variables related to time from assault and prior sexual experience.