Injury Patterns in Near-Hanging Patients: How Much Workup Is Really Needed?

Survivors of near-hangings suffer anoxic brain injuries, but it remains uncertain whether the incidence of associated injuries warrants extensive workup or trauma activation. An 11-year retrospective review was conducted on adult patients with a hanging mechanism who underwent trauma workup and management. The majority of patients (n = 98) were white (88.8%) males (75.5%) with an average age of 30 ± 12.3 years. Two-hundred fifty-four CT and magnetic resonance scans were performed and eight injuries were uncovered: three thyroid cartilage/hyoid fractures; three vertebral injuries; and two cervical vascular injuries. Anoxic brain injury was diagnosed clinically in 35 patients (35.7%) and was present in all 19 patients (19.4%) who died. Only one patient had intra-abdominal injury requiring surgical intervention. Injuries were more likely in patients with abnormal Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) versus normal GCS (55% vs 10.5%, respectively). Patients who present after near-hanging have a low incidence of associated injuries. Workup can be restricted to patients with abnormal GCS scores and for specific signs and symptoms or high-risk energy mechanisms. The trauma team can be activated for signs of trauma.

What clinical psychologists know about evidence-based practice: familiarity with online resources and research methods.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) requires that practitioners routinely access, appraise, and utilize the best available research. We surveyed a representative sample of the Society of Clinical Psychology; 549 psychologists (response rate = 46%) reported their frequency of engaging in EBP when offering psychological services, rated their current knowledge of 12 online research resources, and evaluated their current knowledge of 12 research methods and designs. These psychologists reported, on average, using EBP in 73.1% of their psychological services. With the exception of PsycINFO and MEDLINE, clinical psychologists related low to moderate knowledge of online research resources. By contrast, these psychologists reported considerable knowledge of most research methods and designs, except for odds ratios and structural equation modeling. Psychologists' theoretical orientation, clinical experience, and employment setting predicted knowledge of both online resources and research designs. We discuss the educational and practice ramifications of these results.