1/14. Self strangulation by hanging from cloth towel dispensers in Canadian schools.OBJECTIVE: To investigate a local "epidemic" of incidents of strangulation by hanging from continuous cloth towels in dispensers. METHOD: The coroner's office in all provinces and territories were contacted. Five cases of hanging from continuous cloth towels in Canadian schools were identified and reviewed. RESULTS: There were four deaths, and one near-death, all males age 7 to 12. Two cases were attributed to a "choking game" that provides a sensation (impending loss of consciousness) described as "cool". In three cases, the child was alone at the time. All deaths were due to strangulation from hanging and all occurred in school washrooms. One child (playing with two friends) recovered after admission to an intensive care unit. Towel dispensers were removed from the two index schools. In one province the Ministry of education encouraged removal of towel dispensers from all schools and education of students of the dangers of "choking games". CONCLUSIONS: Thrill seeking from partial asphyxiation appears to underlie these incidents. awareness of such cases should prompt appropriate education strategies to highlight the serious consequences of this form of risk taking behavior in young males. In canada, these incidents have resulted in changes in the design of, and legislation regarding, cloth towel dispensers.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = near (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/14. death by smothering following forced quetiapine administration in an infant.We present a case of smothering of a 2-year-old male infant by his schizophrenic mother who was having a psychotic episode. In addition to the initial autopsy findings of conjunctival petechial hemorrhages, facial linear abrasions and bruises, and mucosal abrasions and bruises, expert odontologic examination revealed indentations of the cusps of central incisors and molars, providing additional evidence of smothering. The postmortem and toxicological examination revealed features of forced quetiapine administration. The case presented is the first case of forced administration of quetiapine described. Our case also highlights the value of expert forensic odontological examination.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = near (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/14. A kansas wheat harvest: near-fatal asphyxiation with wheat grains.We present a patient who had a near-fatal asphyxiation with wheat particles. A previously healthy 11-year-old boy slipped into wheat being unloaded from a transport wagon and was immediately submersed. On arrival at the hospital, he was found to have grain impacted in both mainstem bronchi. A combination of flexible and rigid bronchoscopy with optical forceps and Fogarty balloon catheters was successful in clearing the airways. The removal of the particles through the use of small bronchoscopic instruments is a tedious and delicate procedure, but in this case, it resulted in a life saved.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 5keywords = near (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/14. Accidental ligature strangulation due to electric grinder.A young girl was accidentally strangled when her chunni (a piece of cloth worn around the neck by most Indian women) was caught in a moving electrical grinder. She was taken to the nearest hospital where she died within the next 9h, remaining unconscious throughout the hospital stay. Accidental strangulation of this kind due to household devices or machinery is extremely uncommon and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of its kind to be reported. The findings are presented.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = near (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/14. Near-hanging injury: two case studies and an overview.Near-hanging injuries result in respiratory, cardiac, neurologic, metabolic, and psychiatric problems. A patient surviving an attempted hanging can arrive at the emergency department in a comatose state, as documented in case 1, or in a conscious but disoriented state, as in case 2. Severe neurologic deficits are often reversible in cases of near-hanging. Regardless of initial findings, aggressive treatment of near-hanging victims should be initiated.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = near (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/14. Near-miss asphyxiation from a toy ball: a small parts failure.The case report of a near-fatal asphyxiation of an 11-month-old child by a 26 mm (diameter) toy ball is presented. The lack of compliance with existing consumer product safety Commission standards for small parts is discussed, and a recommendation is made regarding the coloring of ingestible objects.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = near (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/14. death caused by a constricting snake--an infant death.A 21-month-old male was found dead in his crib. An escaped pet python snake (Python reticulatus) was found near the child on a cribside shelf. autopsy findings included petechiae associated with asphyxial death plus puncture wounds consistent with the reptile's teeth. This report details this 1982 death of a child in Reno, nevada, and includes illustration of the reptile's bite marks plus description of snake jaw mechanics in swallowing.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = near (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/14. Homicidal hanging.We report a case of homicide by hanging of a 29-year-old woman that was committed by her husband, who nearly escaped from justice. We offer some reflections on the rarity of this method of mechanical asphyxia in cases of homicide, and on the difficulties in the diagnosis of the medico-legal etiology of these situations. We also offer a short review of similar cases in the medico-legal literature.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = near (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/14. Bronchial obstruction due to respiratory mucosal sloughing in toxic epidermal necrolysis.A 17 year old woman is described who nearly asphyxiated because of sloughing of the bronchial mucosa as a result of toxic epidermal necrolysis. Bronchoscopic aspiration of bronchial slough proved life saving.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = near (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/14. Immunohistological investigations of autopsied carotid bodies and their application to diagnosing strangulation.Using immunohistochemical staining, the histological changes and the presence of neuropeptides (enkephalin and VIP) in the carotid body have been investigated in medico-legal autopsy cases, especially asphyxia cases. Only in cases of manual and/or ligature strangulation cases that sustained a force near the carotid body, were the chief cells mainly lightly stained, indicating that they had been "active" cells. Furthermore, these cells and their nuclei were enlarged in comparison to the chief carotid body cells in other autopsy groups. It was thus felt that these changes had resulted from the force that had directly affected the carotid body. Based on these findings, it was concluded that immunohistochemical investigation of the carotid body offers a useful possibility for diagnosing manual asphyxia, especially in autopsy cases involving strangulation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = near (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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