Muertes por asfixia mecánica en autopsias desarrolladas de la provincia de Zamora Chinchipe en Centro Forense Zonal 7- Loja, enero 2016 a diciembre 2022

Abstract

Background: Death due to mechanical asphyxiation is the fifth leading cause of death in Ecuador. Objective: Estimate the frequency of people who died from mechanical asphyxiation in the Province of Zamora Chinchipe in the autopsies performed at Zonal Forensic Center 7-Loja during the period January 2016 to December 2022. Methodology: Observational - descriptive research, at the Zonal Forensic Center 7-Loja; with a sample of 132 records on corpses of individuals where forensic medicine through autopsy confirmed the cause of death due to mechanical asphyxiation; a form was used to collect data, which were analyzed statistically and the results were presented in frequencies and percentages. Results: Etiologically, the major cause of mechanical asphyxia was accidental, the type of mechanical asphyxia by hanging was the most frequent (43.2%), being the most recurrent cause in men, dying mainly from hanging (43.14 %) and suffocation (28.43%), the most propitious age was within the range of 10 to 19 years (26.52%), the most conflictive months are July (11.36%) and August (11.36% ), during the year 2016 until 2021 deaths due to mechanical asphyxia exceeded 13.64%, its maximum limit being 16.67%, while in 2022 these figures decreased. Conclusion: Death due to mechanical asphyxia caused by hanging was the most recurrent form in the evaluated province, where the most affected individuals were men between 10 and 19 years of age, being the most propitious months July and August