Accidental hanging in an eight-year old child

Authors

  • Sandip Ray Department of Pediatrics, Kalawati Saran Childrens' Hospital, Delhi University, New Delhi, India
  • Sangeeta Meena Department of Pediatrics, Kalawati Saran Childrens' Hospital, Delhi University, New Delhi, India
  • Bijoy Patra Department of Pediatrics, Kalawati Saran Childrens' Hospital, Delhi University, New Delhi, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2349-3291.ijcp20161065

Keywords:

Hanging, Partial, Accidental, Children, Seizure, Laryngeal edema

Abstract

Accidental hanging in children, although uncommon, has been reported worldwide. We report a case of an eight-year-old female who was brought to our hospital with an alleged history of hanging with his head trapped in-between the ropes of a cot. She became unconscious and developed seizures secondary to asphyxial injury and survived. Hanging is an important cause of homicidal and suicidal injury in adults, but in children, it is usually accidental, leading to death because of asphyxia as a result of partial or complete hanging. There is paucity of data in Indian literature regarding accidental hanging injuries in children. According to available data from western countries, strangulation ranks fourth among the causes of unintentional injury in children. The unique mode of hanging in this child has prompted us to report this case.

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Published

2016-12-28

Issue

Section

Case Reports