Police constable attached to water found dead
By Our Correspondent
Police at Jinja Road are investigating the death of a Police Constable James Ochan attached to the Ministry of Water and Environment.
The officer was found hanging on a tree today (Tuesday) at about 7am at Banda Primary School playground in Nakawa Division, Kampala City.
The body was hanging on a tree by a rope. He was identified by a phone that was in the pocket of his trousers. Investigations are ongoing to ascertain what exactly happened to him.
The reports of the Scene of Crime officers, pathologists and detectives that talking to his friends and friends will enable us understand the homicide case. Body has been conveyed to Kampala Capital City Authority mortuary at Mulago for postmortem. We would like to extend our condolences to his family. We also call for calm as we ascertain what exactly happen to him.
Survivors of suicidal hanging can have variable neurological outcomes – from complete recovery to irreversible brain damage. Literature on the neurological outcomes in these patients is confined to retrospective studies and case series. Hence, this prospective study was carried out.
A study of neurological outcomes in suicidal hanging will reveal better results. A prospective observational study carried out from July 2014 to July 2016 will show in details that:
Consecutive patients admitted to the emergency and medicine wards were included in the study. Details of the clinical and radiological findings, course in hospital and at 1 month postdischarge were analyzed.
Statistical Analysis Used:
Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS advanced statistics 20.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA). Univariate analysis was performed using Chi-square test for significance and Odd’s ratio was calculated.
Results:
Of the 101 patients, 6 died and 4 had residual neuro deficits. Cervical spine injury was seen in 3 patients. Interestingly, 39 patients could not remember the act of hanging (retrograde amnesia). Hypotension, pulmonary edema, Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score <8 at admission, need for mechanical ventilation, and cerebral edema on plain computed tomography were more in those with amnesia as compared to those with normal memory and these findings were statistically significant.
Conclusions:
Majority of patients recovered without any sequelae. Routine imaging of cervical spine may not be warranted in all patients, even in those with poor GCS. Retrograde amnesia might be more common than previously believed and further studies are needed to analyze this peculiar feature.