Strangulation injuries.

Strangulation accounts for 10% of all violent deaths in the United States. Many people who are strangled survive. These survivors may have minimal visible external findings. Because of the slowly compressive nature of the forces involved in strangulation, clinicians should be aware of the potential for significant complications including laryngeal fractures, upper airway edema, and vocal cord immobility. Survivors are most often assaulted during an incident of intimate partner violence or sexual assault, and need to be specifically asked if they were strangled. Many survivors of strangulation will not volunteer this information. Accurate documentation in the medical chart is essential to substantiate a survivor's account of the incident. Medical providers are a significant community resource with the responsibility to provide expert information to patients and other systems working with survivors of strangulation. This case study reviews a strangulation victim who exhibited some classic findings.