[Violence-related injuries in an urban environment-view from an accident and emergency department].

Violence is a growing problem worldwide. In Switzerland, interpersonal violence seems to be an increasing problem as well. The aim of the current study was to describe a comprehensive picture of violence in a swiss city with regard to medical and social aspects. A total of 1740 patients injured by violent crimes between April 2004 and January 2011 were enrolled into this study. Most of them were male. There were no relevant changes regarding the number of within the observation period. However, the proportion of affected females increased. Especially at the weekend, there is a need for preventive measures to reduce the high number of affected patients and the associated costs.