Abstract
People can suffer from traumatic asphyxia as a result of being trapped underneath heavy objects or due to traffic accidents. We treated a 71 year-old man with traumatic asphyxia that resulted from a tractor injury. The accident occurred in a vinyl green house supported by iron pipes. The patients chest region had gotten stuck between two iron pipes, and to further exacerbate the situation, the handlebar of the tractor, which had moved backward, compressed the anterior chest region, thus restricting the movement of his thoracic cage in three directions. At the time of rescue, he was in respiratory arrest and upon admission his consciousness level was assessed as being 7 (E2V1M4) according to the Glasgow coma scale. Hypothermia therapy was instituted. The clinical course of the patient was favorable. In the future, we will administer this therapeutic option in a more timely and aggressive manner in severe cases of hypoxic encephalopathy caused by traumatic asphyxia.
