Background: Trauma is a leading cause of death in South Africa. Penetrating injuries are the cause of a high number of these traumatic deaths.
Objective: To study the incidence of deaths related top enetrating injury in the Mthatha region of South Africa.
Method: A record review was undertaken of all medico-legal autopsies performed from 1996 to 2015 at Mthatha Forensic Pathology Laboratory.
Results: Between 1996 and 2015 autopsies were performed on 22952 victims of unnatural death. Of these, 8 368 (36.45%) were killed by penetrating injuries. Anaverage of 62 deaths per 100 000 of the population were caused per year by penetrating trauma. The ratio between males and females affected was 6.7:1 in this study. Most victims of penetrating injuries (37.38%) were young people between the ages of 21 and 30.
Conclusion: The high incidence of death caused b ypenetrating injuryin the Transkei subregion of South Africa (1996–2015) indicates that the situation needs urgent intervention to save lives.