Profile and outcome of near-hanging patients presenting to emergency department in a tertiary care hospital in South India – A retrospective descriptive study

Abstract

Background: Hanging is one of the common modes of deliberate self-harm presenting to emergency departments (EDs) across the world. Early intervention and aggressive resuscitation can decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with near-hanging. Our aim was to study the profile of patients presenting with near-hanging and their outcome to our adult ED. Materials and Methods: Medical records of patients with age more than 15 years presenting with near-hanging to the ED was reviewed retrospectively. The following profile data such as age, gender, marital status, material used for hanging, and type of hanging were collected. The information regarding the outcome of the patients from the hospital also analyzed. The data were analyzed to express the mean (±standard deviation) for the quantitative variables and frequency for the qualitative variables (±percent) using SPSS statistical software. Results: The analysis of 2 years data from August 2014 to July 2016 revealed 77 patients reached the ED with near-Hanging. The mean age of the patients − 31.1 years. Approximately, 43% were complete hanging, while rest were partial hanging. Majority of the patients used dressing materials for hanging themselves. Out of 77 patients, 64 were discharged alive while 2 patients died in the hospital and 11 were left against medical advice. Conclusions: Hanging is still a major mode of deliberate self-harm in South India both among men and women. The outcome of near-hanging is positively influenced by early admission and active treatment.

Keywords

• Emergency department
• near-hanging
• suicidal hanging attempt