Publication:

Correlation of survivors of near hanging with Glasgow coma scale

Background A patient, who survives an attempt to hang himself, at least for some time, is said to be a case of “near-hanging”. This study attempts to correlate survival in near- hanging with Glasgow Coma Scale and to study the clinical profile of hanging the 25 patients of near hanging who were admitted in the MICU of Government Medical College, Aurangabad from January 2014 to July 2015.

Methods Detail clinical history was taken and thorough examination was done. Patients were assessed by applying Glasgow coma scale. NCCT Brain and spine was done of all these patients before admitting to MICU to rule out cervical injury.

Results Males were 76% and female 24% in this study.20 of the 25 patients required mechanical ventilation. 18 patients survived, of whom 13 had been ventilated. All the 5 who did not need ventilation survived.

Conclusions Only 1 patient survived out of the 8, whose Glasgow - coma scale was less than 6, (87.5 % mortality). 100 % patients who were ventilated but had a Glasgow Coma Scale of 6 or more survived.