Monitor patient for cardiac arrhythmias. Psychiatric consultation should be obtained when strangulation intent was suicidal or autoerotic. It is prudent to admit all near-hanging victims for 24 hours to safeguard against delayed airway and pulmonary complications. Psychiatric support for near-hanging victims is recommended, as these patients are prone to depression and violence. Once stabilized from sustaining a spinal cord injury, arrange for patient transfer to a designated spinal cord center.
Respiratory complications are the major cause of delayed mortality in near-hanging victims.
Both aspiration pneumonia and ARDS may develop, complicating the course of the near-hanging victim. A wide array of neurological sequelae may occur in survivors of strangulations and near-hangings, including muscle spasms, transient hemiplegia, central cord syndrome, and seizures. Scarring of neck tissue A multitude of psychiatric disturbances may declare in survivors of strangulation and near-hanging injuries. Psychosis, Korsakoff syndrome, amnesia, and progressive dementia all have been reported. Nearly all strangulation and near-hanging patients demonstrate restlessness and a propensity for violence.