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Subclassification of clavicular substage 3a is useful for diagnosing the age of 17 years

Unterklassifizierung des Schlüsselbein-Unterstadiums 3a ist nützlich bei der Feststellung des vollendeten 17. Lebensjahres

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Abstract

Background

In various European countries the age of 17 years can play a key role in the context of subsequent immigration of further family members in cases of unaccompanied minor refugees.

Aim

The present study investigated whether further subclassification of the clavicular substage 3a can serve as an additional criterion for determining if a person has reached 17 years of age.

Material and methods

In this study the computed tomography scans of 36 autopsy cases with clavicular substage 3a were further subclassified according to a new classification system comprising the stages 3aa, 3ab and 3ac.

Results

The analysis revealed that the new stage 3ac occurred first at the age of 18.2 years in males and at 17.6 years in females.

Conclusion

The presence of the new stage 3ac represents a potential criterion for indicating that the 17th year of life has been completed.

Zusammenfassung

Hintergrund

Das 17. Lebensjahr kann im Rahmen des Familiennachzugs unbegleiteter minderjähriger Flüchtlinge in verschiedenen Ländern Europas eine entscheidende Rolle spielen.

Ziel

Die Studie untersucht, ob eine weitere Unterteilung des Schlüsselbein-Unterstadiums 3a zur Feststellung des vollendeten 17. Lebensjahrs dienen kann.

Material und Methoden

In der Studie wurde anhand der CT-Scans von 36 Fällen, bei denen bereits das Schlüsselbein-Unterstadium 3a diagnostiziert worden war, ein neues Klassifikationssystem angewendet, das die Stadien 3aa, 3ab und 3ac beinhaltet.

Ergebnisse

Es zeigte sich, dass das Stadium 3ac beim männlichen Geschlecht erstmals mit 18,2 Jahren und beim weiblichen Geschlecht erstmals mit 17,6 Jahren auftrat.

Schlussfolgerung

Das Vorliegen des neuen Stadiums 3ac ist bei beiden Geschlechtern ein potenzielles Kriterium für die Vollendung des 17. Lebensjahrs.

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Compliance with ethical guidelines

Conflict of interest. D. Wittschieber, S. Schmidt, V. Vieth, R. Schulz, K. Püschel, H. Pfeiffer and A. Schmeling state that there are no conflicts of interest. All studies on humans described in the present manuscript were carried out with the approval of the responsible ethics committee and in accordance with national law and the Helsinki Declaration of 1975 (in its current, revised form).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Rechtsmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Münster, Röntgenstr. 23, 48149, Münster, Germany

    D. Wittschieber, S. Schmidt, R. Schulz, H. Pfeiffer & A. Schmeling

  2. Institut für Rechtsmedizin, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    S. Schmidt

  3. Institut für Klinische Radiologie, Universitätsklinikum Münster, Münster, Germany

    V. Vieth

  4. Institut für Rechtsmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

    K. Püschel

Authors
  1. D. Wittschieber
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  2. S. Schmidt
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  3. V. Vieth
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  4. R. Schulz
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  5. K. Püschel
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  6. H. Pfeiffer
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  7. A. Schmeling
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. Wittschieber.

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Wittschieber, D., Schmidt, S., Vieth, V. et al. Subclassification of clavicular substage 3a is useful for diagnosing the age of 17 years. Rechtsmedizin 24, 485–488 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00194-014-0990-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00194-014-0990-1

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