Asphyxia

"Oxygen deprivation" redirects here. For other uses, see Hypoxia (disambiguation) and Asphyxia (disambiguation).

"Smother" and "Suffocation" redirect here. For other uses, see Smother (disambiguation) and Suffocation (disambiguation).

Asphyxia
Other namesAsphyxiation
The neck contains several vulnerable targets for compression, including the carotid arteries and the trachea.
SpecialtyCritical care medicine
ComplicationsComa
Frequency9.8 million unintentional worldwide (2015)[1]
Deaths35,600 worldwide (2015)[2]

Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing.[3] [4] Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects all the tissues and organs, some more rapidly than others. There are many circumstances that can induce asphyxia, all of which are characterized by the inability of a person to acquire sufficient oxygen through breathing for an extended period of time. Asphyxia can cause coma or death.

In 2015, about 9.8 million cases of unintentional suffocation occurred which resulted in 35,600 deaths.[1][2] The word asphyxia is from Ancient Greek α- "without" and σφύξις sphyxis, "squeeze" (throb of heart).[5]

  1. ^ a b Vos T, Allen C, Arora M, Barber RM, Bhutta ZA, Brown A, et al. (October 2016). "Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015". Lancet. 388 (10053): 1545–1602. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31678-6. PMC 5055577. PMID 27733282.
  2. ^ a b Wang H, Naghavi M, Allen C, Barber RM, Bhutta ZA, Carter A, et al. (October 2016). "Global, regional, and national life expectancy, all-cause mortality, and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes of death, 1980–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015". Lancet. 388 (10053): 1459–1544. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(16)31012-1. PMC 5388903. PMID 27733281.
  3. ^ Sasso R, Bachir R, El Sayed M (29 June 2018). "Suffocation Injuries in the United States: Patient Characteristics and Factors Associated with Mortality". Western Journal of Emergency Medicine. 19 (4): 707–714. doi:10.5811/westjem.2018.4.37198. ISSN 1936-9018. PMC 6040911. PMID 30013708.
  4. ^ Aslam HM, Saleem S, Afzal R, Iqbal U, Saleem SM, Shaikh MW, et al. (2014). ""Risk factors of birth asphyxia"". Italian Journal of Pediatrics. 40 (1). doi:10.1186/s13052-014-0094-2. ISSN 1824-7288. PMC 4300075.
  5. ^ "Asphyxia Origin". Online Etymology Dictionary. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2015.