Open AccessStrangulation injury from indigenous rocking cradle
Author(s) -
Abhijeet Saha,
Prerna Batra,
Anuradha Bansal
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of emergencies, trauma and shock
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.313
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 0974-519X
pISSN - 0974-2700
DOI - 10.4103/0974-2700.66543
Subject(s) - accidental , asphyxia , medicine , indigenous , forensic engineering , medical emergency , pediatrics , engineering , ecology , physics , acoustics , biology
Indigenously made rocking cradle is frequently used in rural India. We report strangulation from an indigenously made rocking cradle in an 11-month-old female child. The unique mode of injury and its mechanism have been discussed. Strangulation is an important cause of homicidal and suicidal injury in adults but in children it is usually accidental leading to death due to asphyxia as a result of partial hanging. In western countries, it is the third most common cause of accidental childhood deaths, 17% of them being due to ropes and cords. It ranks fourth amongst the causes of unintentional injury in children less than 1 year of age following roadside accidents, drowning and burns. However, in India, strangulation injury is under reported although indigenous rocking cradles are very commonly used in rural India, and they are even more dangerous than the cribs and adult beds as there are no safety mechanisms therein. We report a case of accidental strangulation following suspension from an indigenously made rocking cradle. The unique mode of injury has prompted us to report this case.