Beneficial response to mild therapeutic hypothermia for comatose survivors of near-hanging.

Abstract

Therapeutic hypothermia has been shown to clearly benefit comatose survivors of cardiac arrest. It is reasonable to postulate that if therapeutic hypothermia is beneficial for the neurological injury of cardiac arrest, then it may have a role in the treatment of near-hanging suffocation injuries. We report a retrospective series of 2 patients who received mild therapeutic hypothermia for their comatose state after a near-hanging injury. The exclusionary criteria and protocols that we use for comatose survivors of cardiac arrest were used. After at least 24 hours of mild therapeutic hypothermia, both patients had a complete return of neurological function, with Glasgow Coma Scale scores of 15 at the time of discharge from the hospital. These data, taken with other case series, suggest that therapeutic hypothermia may be beneficial for comatose survivors of near-hanging.

• Authors: Dietrich Jehle, Michael Meyer, Seth Gemme
• Journal: The American journal of emergency medicine (Am J Emerg Med) Vol. 28 Issue 3 Pg. 390.e1-3 (Mar 2010) ISSN: 1532-8171 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 20223413 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Topics

• Asphyxia (therapy)
• Coma (therapy)
• Female
• Humans
• Hypothermia, Induced (methods)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Suicide, Attempted
• Young Adult