title: Survival following accidental scarf strangulation.
abstract: Injury or death by strangulation, unless otherwise explained, is almost always homicidal. Accidental strangulation may occur but only very rarely. We present such a case of accidental strangulation and survival in a motorbike pillion rider. A long scarf (dupatta) clad woman, sitting at the back of a two wheeler motorbike, fell after her long scarf got caught in the back wheel. The lady was first taken to a local clinic and then later was referred to a hospital for a suspected spine injury where she made an uneventful recovery. This case report exposes the precarious position of women pillion riders wearing a long scarf and emphasizes the need for extra caution and the need for wheel guards on spoked wheels in particular.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, A.J. Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center, Mangalore, India.
authors.forename: Ullasa
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Shetty
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, A.J. Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center, Mangalore, India.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deepak
authors.affiliation: Dow Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Syed Ather
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.affiliation: Dow Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Hadi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Usmani
authors.affiliation: Dow Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Osama
authors.affiliation: Mangala Hospital, Mangalore, India.
authors.forename: Kiran Godwin
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, University of Dammam, Dammam, Saudi Arabia (KSA) mangalore971@yahoo.co.in.
authors.forename: Ritesh George
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Menezes
mesh_terms: D001237:Asphyxia / Q000209:etiology*; D003020:Clothing / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000209:etiology*; D015541:Off-Road Motor Vehicles; D017741:Survivors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Accidental strangulation; danger of spoked wheels; dupatta; long scarf; motorbike; need for mandatory protective wheel guards; pillion rider; survival