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Published on: July 24, 2012
Near-hanging injuries: a 10-year experience
Ali Salim1, Matthew Martin, Burapat Sangthong
1Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma and Critical Care, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA. asalim@surgery.usc.edu
Injury
|March 1, 2006
Summary
Near-hanging patients often sustain injuries, but outcomes are favorable. Anoxic brain injury on CT scans is the key predictor of poor outcomes, highlighting the need for liberal screening. Survival rates are high.
Area of Science:
- Trauma surgery
- Emergency medicine
- Clinical toxicology
Background:
- Near-hanging incidents represent a significant cause of traumatic injury.
- Understanding injury patterns and outcomes is crucial for effective patient management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze injury patterns in near-hanging patients.
- To identify risk factors and predict outcomes for patients presenting after near-hanging incidents.
Main Methods:
- A trauma registry study analyzed data from January 1993 to December 2003.
- Included patients admitted for attempted suicide by hanging, excluding those deceased on arrival or in cardiopulmonary arrest.
- Demographics, injuries, and outcomes were examined to identify independent risk factors for poor outcomes.
Main Results:
- Out of 63 near-hanging patients, 19% sustained injuries, including cervical spine fractures in nearly 5%.
- Factors associated with poor outcomes included low systolic blood pressure, low Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, anoxic brain injury on CT, and high Injury Severity Score.
- Logistic regression identified anoxic brain injury on CT scan as the sole independent predictor of poor outcome (p < 0.01).
Conclusions:
- Injuries are common in near-hanging cases, necessitating liberal screening with CT scans.
- Prognosis remains favorable even for patients with a GCS score of 8 or less.
- Overall survival was 90%, with only 3.5% experiencing severe or permanent disability.
