Longitudinal visibility of MRI findings in living victims of strangulation.

Initial experiences with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of living strangulation victims demonstrated additional findings of internal injuries compared to the standard clinical forensic examination. However, existing studies on the use of MRI for this purpose mostly focused on the first 48 h after the incident. The aims of this study were (a) to evaluate the longitudinal visibility of MRI findings after violence against the neck by performing two MRI examinations within 12 days and a minimum of four days between both MRI scans and (b) to assess which MRI sequences were most helpful for the detection of injuries. Twenty strangulation victims participated in this study and underwent one (n = 8) or two (n = 12) MRI scans. The first MRI examination was conducted during the first five days, the second five to 12 days after the incident. Two blinded radiologists assessed the MRI data and looked for lesions in the structures of the neck. In total, 140 findings were reported in the 32 MRI examinations. Most of the findings were detected in the thyroid and the muscles of the neck. T2-weighted SPACE with fat suppression, T1-weighted TSE and T1-weighted MPRAGE were rated as the most helpful MRI sequences. Subjects who showed findings in the initial scan also demonstrated comparable results in the second scan, which was performed on average 8.4 days after the incident. Our results show that even up to 12 days after the incident, the criminal proceeding of strangulation cases may greatly profit from the information provided by an MRI examination of the neck in addition to the standard clinical forensic examination.

Prevalence of Sexual Strangulation/Choking Among Australian 18-35 Year-Olds.

In Australia, strangulation has been explicitly criminalized in all states and territories. However, it continues to be a "normalized" sexual practice despite its potentially fatal consequences and associated short and long-term sequelae. This research aimed to establish the prevalence of strangulation during sex and examine predictors of positive perceptions toward sexual strangulation in Australia. Confidential, cross-sectional online surveys were conducted with 4702 Australians aged 18-35 years. Participants were 47% cis-men, 48% cis-women, and 4% trans or gender diverse. A total of 57% reported ever being sexually strangled (61% women, 43% men, 79% trans or gender diverse) and 51% reported ever strangling a partner (40% women, 59% men, 74% trans or gender diverse). Differences were found across genders on all variables of sexual strangulation, including frequency of engagement, level of pressure on the neck, consequences, wanting and enjoyment, and how consent was given/received. However, when split by gender, sexual orientation of men and women revealed further differences in behaviors, consequences, and wanting, particularly among straight and bisexual women. After accounting for exposure to strangulation in pornography and previous experience of sexual strangulation, positive perceptions of being strangled (R2 = .51) and strangling a partner (R2 = .53) were predicted by ratings that it could be done safely and social normative factors. These findings suggest strangulation is common during sex among young Australians. Non-stigmatizing education strategies are needed to engage with young people so they have a better understanding of the risks involved and how to negotiate consent and safety regarding sexual strangulation.

Evaluation of clinical profiles, surgical experience and outcomes of ileosigmoid knotting in low-resource setup: A retrospective cohort study at Jimma University Medical Center.

BACKGROUND: Bowel obstruction is a mechanical or functional blockade of intestinal contents from evacuation to the adjacent distal bowel or external environment. It poses significant morbidity and mortality in both high-income and low-to-middle-income countries. Ileosigmoid knotting is a special form of obstruction where the small bowel often ileum wraps around the sigmoid colon or vice versa. It is the severest form of bowel obstruction, involving both the small and large bowels in a compound manner. It is common where sigmoid volvulus is common and geographic areas with a bulky diet. METHODS: An institution-based retrospective cohort study was employed among purposively selected 40 surgical patients with ileosigmoid knotting records from July 2020 to July 2023 at Jimma University Medical Center. To estimate and compare the survival probabilities, the Kaplan-Meir method and log-rank test were used. A Cox-regression analysis was fitted to identify independent predictors of time to death. RESULTS: Among a cohort of 40 patients followed for 347 person-days at Jimma University Medical Center, 11 (27.5%) had died. The overall incidence rate of death was 3.2 (95% CI 1.8, 5.7) per 100 person-days. In multivariable Cox-regression analysis, age (AHR = 1.15; 95% CI: 1.04-1.28), shock at presentation (AHR = 30.50: 95% CI 1.25-742.54), comorbidities (AHR = 5.81; 95% CI 1.19-28.23), pulse rate intraoperatively (AHR = 1.19; 95% CI: 1.01-1.40), postoperative pulse rate (AHR = 1.07; 95% CI: 1.01-1.14) were independently associated with time to death. CONCLUSION: The incidence of death among surgical patients with ileosigmoid knotting was high and also had a shorter median survival time. Age, shock at presentation, comorbidities, pulse rate intraoperatively, and postoperative pulse rate were found to be statistically significant predictors of time to death and outcome among surgical patients with Ileosigmoid knotting.

An exploration of frontline health professional's current understanding of non-fatal strangulation.

AIM: To explore frontline health professionals' current understanding of non-fatal strangulation and their need for and support for a comprehensive education and screening package to support health delivery. DESIGN: A descriptive mixed-method approach was chosen to analyse responses to an anonymous, online survey consisting of ten Likert scale, open-ended and five demographic questions. 103 frontline health professionals (nurses, doctors, paramedics, midwives) participated in this study. METHODS: Content analysis of the Likert scale and open-ended questions describing the subjective experiences and perceptions of the participants was undertaken along with percentage and frequency counts of the rated Likert responses. RESULTS: The findings identified that 51.1% of health professionals do not ask about strangulation routinely and that 59% of health professionals reported receiving no formal education or professional development on NFS to enhance their knowledge or inform clinical practice. No health professionals identified mild traumatic brain injury as a consequence or sign of strangulation, nor did they identify an understanding that 50% of people may have no visible injuries after being strangled. Health professionals also do not routinely document the different agencies referred to or involved in supporting the person who experienced NFS. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that frontline health professionals lack the confidence, skills and education needed to meet medical obligations to their patients and to fulfil their duty to 'do no harm'. Frontline health professionals would welcome a comprehensive education and screening package to guide recognition and response to non-fatal strangulation in their clinical settings. WHERE AND ON WHOM WILL THE RESEARCH HAVE AN IMPACT?: The purpose of the study was to understand and explore health professionals' knowledge about non-fatal strangulation so that improved education around better screening, and management of trauma-focused care to people who have been subjected to non-fatal strangulation could occur. NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: This review contains no patient or public contribution since it examines health professionals' knowledge of identifying non-fatal strangulation and the screening and assessment tools used in clinical practice.

Incisional Small-Bowel Strangulation after a Caesarean Section: A Case Report.

Background and Objectives: Every surgical procedure has the possible risk of complications, and caesarean sections (CSs) are no exception. As CS rates are increasing worldwide, being familiar with rare but possible complications has become extremely important. Case report: We present a case of 25-year-old nulliparous patient who came to our hospital with twin pregnancy for a scheduled induction of labour. An urgent CS was performed due to labour dystocia. On the second postoperative day, the patient started to complain about pain in the epigastrium, but initially showed no signs of bowel obstruction, passing gas, and stools, and could tolerate oral intake. After a thorough examination, an early postoperative complication-small-bowel strangulation at the incision site-was diagnosed. Small bowels protruded in between sutured rectus abdominis muscle causing a strangulation which led to re-laparotomy. During the surgery, there was no necrosis of intestines, bowel resection was not needed, and abdominal wall repair was performed. After re-laparotomy, the patient recovered with no further complications. Conclusions: Although there are discussions about CS techniques, most guidelines recommend leaving rectus muscle unsutured. This case demonstrates a complication which most likely could have been avoided if the rectus muscle had not been re-approximated.

Suicide by ligature strangulation and/or hanging inside a motor vehicle: a comprehensive review.

Suicide by ligature strangulation/hanging inside vehicles is uncommon, and only few cases have been reported in the literature. This study aimed to conduct a comprehensive review of reported cases of suicide by ligature strangulation/hanging inside vehicles, analyzing the features of the death scene, of the ligature and furrow, autopsy findings, and causes of death. The comprehensive review was performed following the PRISMA guidelines by using the most common scientific databases. According to inclusion criteria, a total of 20 cases of vehicle-assisted strangulation/hanging were reviewed: 13 cases were assessed as ligature strangulation resulting in 7 complete decapitations and 7 other cases as hanging. All victims were young or adult males, except for one 48-year-old female. Death was assessed as suicide in all cases, except for a possible accidental autoerotic death. In 8 cases, a history of depression or other psychiatric disorders was reported. Toxicological analysis were positive in 7 cases. Hard ligature materials (nylon, steel, plastic, hemp ropes) were used in most cases, but only 13 cases had a well-demarcated furrow. In 2 cases, no internal findings of asphyxia were found. An additional case of ligature strangulation inside a motor vehicle off is also presented, where no autopsy findings of asphyxia were observed, except for a broad pale furrow and monolateral conjunctival petechiae. This study highlights the challenges in classifying suicidal hanging and ligature strangulation in motor vehicles.

Spigelian hernia.

INTRODUCTION: Spigelian hernia is a rare type of abdominal wall hernias which are often diagnosed when incarcerated. These hernias typically develop at the crossing point of the arcuate line and lateral portion of rectus abdominis muscle. CASE REPORT: We present the case of a 44-year-old female patient admitted to our surgery unit for a painful lump in her right mesogastrium. Incarcerated atypical hernia in the right mesogastrium was suspected based on completed imaging assessments. Spigelian hernia was confirmed by preoperative findings. Interestingly, the patient applied interferon (multiple sclerosis therapy) at the site of the lump, which is why the diagnosis of lipodystrophy had been considered. CONCLUSION: In general, the diagnosis of Spigelian hernia is difficult. From the anatomical point of view the clinical finding is not always specific. The risk of incarceration is relatively high, and thus even clinically silent findings are indicated for surgery.

Imaging of alert patients after non-self-inflicted strangulation: MRI is superior to CT.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the accuracy of CT and MRI reports of alert patients presenting after non-self-inflicted strangulation (NSIS) and evaluate the appropriateness of these imaging modalities in NSIS. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was a retrospective analysis of patient characteristics and strangulation details, with a comparison of original radiology reports (ORR) to expert read-outs (EXR) of CT and MRI studies of all NSIS cases seen from 2008 to 2020 at a single centre. RESULTS: The study included 116 patients (71% women, p < .001, χ2), with an average age of 33.8 years, mostly presenting after manual strangulation (97%). Most had experienced intimate partner violence (74% of women, p < .001, χ2) or assault by unknown offender (88% of men, p < 0.002 χ2). Overall, 132 imaging studies (67 CT, 51% and 65 MRI, 49%) were reviewed. Potentially dangerous injuries were present in 7%, minor injuries in 22%, and no injuries in 71% of patients. Sensitivity and specificity of ORR were 78% and 97% for MRI and 30% and 98% for CT. Discrepancies between ORR and EXR occurred in 18% of all patients, or 62% of injured patients, with a substantial number of unreported injuries on CT. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that MRI is more appropriate than CT for alert patients presenting after non-self-inflicted strangulation and underline the need for radiologists with specialist knowledge to report these cases in order to add value to both patient care and potential future medico-legal investigations. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: MRI should be preferred over CT for the investigation of strangulation related injuries in alert patients because MRI has a higher accuracy than CT and does not expose this usually young patient population to ionizing radiation. KEY POINTS: • Patients presenting after strangulation are often young women with a history of intimate partner violence while men typically present after assault by an unknown offender. • Expert read-outs of CT and MRI revealed potentially dangerous injuries in one of 14 patients. • MRI has a significantly higher sensitivity than CT and appears to be more appropriate for the diagnostic workup of alert patients after strangulation.

Comparison of emergent laparoscopic and open repair of acutely incarcerated and strangulated hernias-short- and long-term results.

BACKGROUND: Incarcerated and strangulated hernias are a common clinical presentation encompassing several challenges in acute care surgery. The role of laparoscopy is still controversial and the data is scarce. Laparoscopy enables better evaluation of the incarcerated organ and its viability. The use of mesh repair in these emergent operations is also a major concern. In this series we aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic emergent repairs of acutely incarcerated and strangulated hernias, and their long-term results, in comparison to the conventional open repairs. METHODS: Retrospective review of prospectively collected data of all adult patients, between the ages of 18 and 89, who underwent emergent operation due to an incarcerated and strangulated hernia between November 2017 and December 2020. RESULTS: During the study period, 89 patients underwent emergent operation due to incarcerated hernias-63 laparoscopic repair and 26 underwent an open repair. In the laparoscopic group (LG) 38 patients had a groin hernia and 25 had a ventral hernia, while in the open group (OG) the distribution was 12 and 14, respectively. When operated laparoscopically, all groin hernias but one were repaired in the TAPP approach and most ventral hernias were repaired using the IPOM + approach. During the peri-operative period there were 3 mortalities (1 in the LG). There were no significant differences between the groups in minor or major complications. Mean follow-up time in the LG was 27.9 months and 29.4 months in the OG. There was no significant difference in recurrence rates. Long-term results showed better outcome in the LG regarding pain at rest, difficulty doing exercise and local discomfort. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic emergent repair of incarcerated hernias is a safe and feasible approach, with better short and long-term results compared to the open approach.

#ChokeMeDaddy: A Content Analysis of Memes Related to Choking/Strangulation During Sex.

Recent research indicates that some young people initially learn about sexual choking through Internet memes. Thus, a qualitative content analysis was performed on 316 visual and textual memes collected from various social media websites and online searches to assess salient categories related to choking during sex. We identified nine main categories: communication, gendered dynamics, choking as dangerous, choking as sexy, sexualization of the nonsexual, shame and worry, romance/rough sex juxtaposition, choking and religious references, instructional/informational. Given that memes, through their humor, can make difficult topics more palatable and minimize potential harm in the phenomenon they depict, more concerted, synergistic effort that integrates media literacy into sexuality education programming on the potential risks that may ensue for those engaging in sexual choking is warranted.

Small intestinal strangulation in 60 cattle - clinical, laboratory and ultrasonographic findings, treatment and outcome.

BACKGROUND: Intestinal strangulation is constriction of the intestine by a band of tissue, ligament or blood vessel causing partial or complete intestinal obstruction. This retrospective study describes the clinical, laboratory and ultrasonographic findings, treatment and outcome of 60 cows with intestinal strangulation. RESULTS: The general condition was abnormal in all cows (60/60), 23.3% (14/60) had nonspecific signs of pain, 40.0% (24/60) had signs of colic and 48.3% (29/60) had signs of somatic (parietal) pain. The most common digestive tract abnormalities were, in decreasing frequency, reduced or absent intestinal motility (100%, 60/60), reduced or absent faecal output (98.3%, 59/60), reduced or absent rumen motility (93.4%, 56/60), dilated small intestines on transrectal palpation (63.3%, 38/60), positive ballottement and swinging auscultation (BSA) and/or percussion and simultaneous auscultation (PSA) on the right side of the abdomen (58.3%, 35/60) and at least one positive foreign body test, most commonly the back grip, in 33.9% (20/59) of the cows. Other common findings were reduced skin surface temperature (67.8%, 40/59), reduced skin turgor (51.7%, 31/60), prolonged capillary refill time (49.2%, 29/59), enophthalmus (48.3%, 29/60) and moderate to severe scleral injection (46.6%, 27/58). The most common laboratory findings were hypokalaemia (58.3%, 35/60), haemoconcentration (57.6%, 34/59), base excess (51.1%, 24/47), hyperproteinaemia (45.8%, 27/59), hyperbilirubinaemia (43.3%, 26/60), acidosis (42.6%, 20/47) and azotaemia (38.3%, 23/60). The principal ultrasonographic findings were subjectively reduced or absent small intestinal motility and dilated small intestines, but the strangulation could not be visualised by ultrasonography. With one exception, all cows underwent a right flank laparotomy to resolve the strangulation by transection or resection of the impinging tissue. Forty-nine (81.7%) cows were discharged and 11 (18.3%) were euthanized before, during or after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Without laparotomy, intestinal strangulation could be clinically (transrectally) diagnosed in only 10% of the cows. A laparotomy is therefore essential for the correct diagnosis. The prognosis is good with prompt surgical treatment.

Hair tourniquet syndrome: A retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: Hair thread tourniquet syndrome (HTS) is a pediatric condition in which human hair or synthetic fiber encircles and strangulates a body appendage causing tissue necrosis. Few epidemiologic studies have been done. Our objective was to better define the demographics, clinical features, and predisposing factors for this condition. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medical records of all infants up to 1 year old seen in the orthopedic emergency department of Galilee Medical Center were searched for the diagnosis of HTS or its ICD equivalent. RESULTS: Forty-one cases of hair tourniquet syndrome (HTS) were reviewed. Most cases (68%) occurred during the winter months (December to February). There were no reports between June to August (summer). The median age was 4 months and the male-to-female ratio was approximately 2:5. Toes were significantly more involved than fingers (97.5%) and the 3rd toe was the most affected (58%). Nine patients (21.9%) had more than one toe affected and only one case reported finger involvement. CONCLUSIONS: HTS in our population is a phenomenon that seems to occur mostly in winter. Infants between 3 and 5 months are at greater risk. Toes are more affected than fingers. The most involved toes are the 3rd and 4th.

Didn't put a label on it: Examining intimate partner strangulation within a diagnostic framework.

AIMS: The aim was to examine and describe women's emergency department visits and care-seeking experiences, including recognition, evaluation and communication of symptoms, injuries and health risks after non-fatal intimate partner strangulation. DESIGN: Using a diagnostic process framework, this mixed-methods study explores concordance and discordance of interview and medical records data to highlight opportunities for clinical diagnostic improvement. METHODS: In-depth, semi-structured interviews with women after an emergency department visit for non-fatal intimate partner strangulation, concurrent with medical records reviews, were conducted between March 2018 and January 2019. A constant comparative approach was used to analyse interview and medical record data using an a priori codebook designed based on the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine's conceptual model of the diagnostic process and prior intimate partner violence research. RESULTS: Interviews reflected participants did not have a sense of long-term health risks from their strangulation beyond addressing emotional trauma. Women noted that forensic and emergency nursing support was treatment in and of itself that allowed them to be heard and validated. Medical record clinical impressions and final diagnoses included domestic violence, domestic abuse or sexual assault, but not specifically strangulation. CONCLUSION: This study contributes to the growing literature regarding strangulation diagnosis and care. Our findings provide new details of women's emergency department care-seeking experiences which, whilst overall aligned with medical records documentation, were not reflected in final diagnostic impressions nor in patient recollection of long-term health risks. IMPACT: Nurses are strongly positioned as clinical practice leaders and policy advocates to improve collective responses to this dangerous violence mechanism. Actions such as improving patient education, referral and follow-up options to better communication and address long-term strangulation risk are one example. Further research on non-fatal intimate partner strangulation and care-seeking is warranted to expand this knowledge, particularly in longitudinal cohorts and varied geographical areas.

Front-line health professionals' recognition and responses to nonfatal strangulation events: An integrative review.

AIM: The aim of this study was to determine how front-line health professionals identify and manage nonfatal strangulation events. DESIGN: Integrative review with narrative synthesis was conducted. DATA SOURCES: A comprehensive database search was conducted in six electronic databases (CINAHL, Wed of Science, DISCOVER, SCOPUS, PubMed and Scholar) resulting in 49 potentially eligible full texts, reduced to 10 articles for inclusion after exclusion criteria were applied. REVIEW METHODS: An integrative review was undertaken in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Statement guidelines. Data were extracted, and a narrative synthesis using Whittemore and Knafl (2005) framework was undertaken to determine how front-line health professionals identify and manage nonfatal strangulation events. RESULTS: The findings identified three main themes: an overall failure by health professionals to recognize nonfatal strangulation, a failure to report the event and a failure to follow up on victims after the event. Stigma and predetermined beliefs around nonfatal strangulation, along with a lack of knowledge about signs and symptoms, were the salient features in the literature. CONCLUSION: Lack of training and fear of not knowing what to do next are barriers to providing care to victims of strangulation. Failure to detect, manage and support victims will continue the cycle of harm through the long-term health effects of strangulation. Early detection and management of strangulation are essential to prevent health complications, particularly when the victims are exposed to such behaviours repeatedly. IMPACT: This review appears to be the first to explore how health professionals identify and manage nonfatal strangulation. It identified the significant need for education and robust and consistent screening and discharge policies to assist health providers of services where victims of nonfatal strangulation attend. NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: This review contains no patient or public contribution since it was examining health professionals' knowledge of identifying nonfatal strangulation and the screening and assessment tools used in clinical practice.

STRANGULATION-INDUCED ATLANTOAXIAL ROTATORY SUBLUXATION TREATED WITH CLOSED REDUCTION.

BACKGROUND: Cervical subluxation is a broad class of injuries in which there are degrees of misalignment of vertebral bodies in relationship to adjacent vertebra. Atlantoaxial rotatory subluxation (AARS) is a subtype of cervical subluxation resulting from exaggerated rotation of the C1-C2 complex. Inflammatory, infectious, post-surgical, and traumatic etiologies are recognized and well-described. AARS is predominantly seen in children and occurs rarely in adults. CASE REPORT: We submit the case of an otherwise healthy adult male patient presenting to the emergency department with strangulation-induced C1-C2 subluxation with a rotational component that was treated at the bedside by neurosurgery with closed reduction. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? Clinicians must consider a broad range of serious pathologies in a patient presenting with torticollis, especially in the setting of strangulation. Although extremely rare in adults, AARS must be considered in the differential diagnosis, as early identification increases the likelihood of successful nonoperative treatment.

Early Identification of Intestinal Strangulation: Why It Is Important and How to Make an Early Diagnosis.

Horses with colic caused by intestinal strangulation can have an excellent outcome with early surgical correction of the obstruction. The expense associated with surgery is typically less with early lesion correction. The challenge is making an early diagnosis of intestinal strangulation. Although for some horses with a strangulating obstruction, the need for surgery is made based on severe colic signs or lack of response to analgesia, in other horses, it is less obvious. Signalment, history, and meticulous physical examination, combined with some targeted diagnostic procedures can help with early diagnosis of intestinal strangulation. Improving the outcome of these horses requires diligence and a team-based approach from the owner or caregiver, primary care veterinarian, and specialists.

Hair tourniquet syndrome of toe.

INTRODUCTION: Hair tourniquet syndrome (HTS) is a rare surgical emergency caused by a hair or thread wrapping around an appendage. We aimed to present our clinical experience with HTS of toes and attract physicians' attention to this rare entity. METHODS: Between January 2012 and September 2022; 26 patients (25 pediatric and one adult case) were treated for HTS. All pediatric cases were treated surgically under loop magnification. The adult patient was treated nonsurgically. The patient's age, gender, affected appendage and side, duration of symptoms, and postoperative complications were recorded. RESULTS: Thirty-six toes of 25 patients (13 boys, 11 girls, and a male adult) were included in the study. The mean age of pediatric patients was 126.6 days. The third toe was the most affected (n:16), followed by the fourth (n:8). In seven patients more than one was affected. CONCLUSION: HTS should be treated as soon as possible when diagnosed to prevent further complications including appendage loss.

[Surgical treatment of a patient with stage v multinodular toxic goiter, severe thyrotoxicosis, strangulation syndrome and severe comorbidities]. / Khirurgicheskoe lechenie patsientki s mnogouzlovym toksicheskim zobom V stepeni, tireotoksikozom tyazheloi stepeni, kompressionnym sindromom i tyazhelymi soputstvuyushchimi zabolevaniyami.

The authors describe thyroidectomy in a patient with multinodular toxic goiter stage V, severe thyrotoxicosis complicated by thyro-cardiac disease, strangulation syndrome and severe comorbidities. Nodular euthyroid goiter was first diagnosed in 1992, and resection of the right thyroid lobe was performed. Progressive enlargement of thyroid gland and thyrotoxicosis occurred after coronavirus infection in February, 2020. Along with progression of thyrotoxicosis and strangulation of cervical organs, the patient suffered from portal vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism. Myeloproliferative disease with essential thrombocythemia was also diagnosed. Volume of the right and left thyroid lobes was 69 and 101.3 cm3, respectively. X-ray examination of the esophagus revealed narrowing at C6 level up to 5-8 mm. Surgery time was 2 hours, dimension of removed right thyroid lobe - 10.0×7.5×6.5 cm, left thyroid lobe - 11.0×6.5×5.5 cm, total weight - 348 g. The patient was discharged in 6 days after surgery.

Asphyxia homicides in Denmark 1992-2016.

In this retrospective study , we present the findings in 250 homicides by asphyxia in Denmark in a 25-year period, with a particular focus on the autopsy findings in strangulation. Our intention is for the results to be used in future death investigations, where difficulties in interpretation of findings in potential asphyxial deaths arise. Asphyxia homicides showed a strong bias with respect to sex, age, and homicide type. The frequent female victim was typically an adult, whereas the rarer male victim was most often a child. Female offenders most often killed their children, and male offenders most often killed their female partner. Generally, most asphyxia homicides took place in a domestic setting. Manual strangulation and ligature strangulation were the most common mechanisms of asphyxia homicides (81.6%). A lack of petechial hemorrhages, especially in the conjunctiva, was rare in homicidal strangulation, but there were exceptions, especially when there was postmortem decomposition, making it impossible to verify them. Most victims of strangulation had skin lesions in the face (including the jawline) or on the neck, with accompanying hemorrhages in muscle and connective tissue, but the findings could be subtle or compounded by decomposition. Fractures of the laryngo-hyoid complex were common in strangulation, particularly in manual strangulation (chi-sq = 4.0993, df = 1, P < 0.05) and were clearly related to the age of the victim (chi-sq = 82.193, df = 4, P < 0.001). In children and young adults dying from homicidal strangulation, a lack of fractures is to be expected, while a lack of fractures is unusual, but not entirely unexpected, for adults and aged people.

How safe is BDSM? A literature review on fatal outcome in BDSM play.

A noteworthy number of people are interested in BDSM (bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism, and masochism). Fatal outcomes while participating in BDSM activities occur. The aim of this literature review is to give a better insight into potential dangerous BDSM play by summarizing published data on BDSM fatalities. A literature search was conducted. It was searched for non-natural death related to BDSM activity. Seventeen cases were found. The age of the deceased ranged between 23 and 49 years (mean age 34.9 years). Strangulation in the course of erotic asphyxiation was the most common cause of death (88.2%). In 13 cases, a toxicology report for the deceased was mentioned, of which in eight cases (61.5%) toxicology analysis was positive. In four of these cases, the BDSM partner was also tested positive with the same substance. Drugs or alcohol was involved in 64.3% of fatal BDSM play. In nine cases, the level of experience in BDMS activity of the deceased and the partner was described, and in all of them, the deceased and the partner were not new to BDSM play. Fatal outcomes of BDSM plays are rarer than autoerotic fatalities and natural deaths related to sexual activities. Safeguards and education on medical aspects exist in the BDSM communities. If they are followed by the practitioners, the risks of BDMS play can be reduced. Cases of non-natural death connected to BDSM are rare incidents and can be prevented.