IN this issue of ANESTHESIOLOGY, Layon and Modell review current evidenced-based management of drowning victims who reach medical care. Modern resuscitation research of the drowning victim now spans decades. This review article expertly and comprehensively evaluates information resulting from that investigation; perhaps as important as that which is said, is that which is not said. Throughout t...

Aquatic sports are included in the top list of risky practices as the environment per se carries a possibility of death by drowning if not rescued in time. Not only are aquatic sports related to a high risk of death, but also all sports practiced on the water, over the water and on ice. Whatever the reason a person is in the water, drowning carries a higher possibility of death if the individua...

OBJECTIVE To investigate maternal beliefs, practices about causes and determinant factors on drowning and maternal socioeconomic correlated factors on child mortality from drowning. METHODS From March 2005 to March 2009, in a register-based cohort study and household survey, individual records utilizing drowning registry data of northern Iran were enrolled.   Mothers (n=276) who responded to ...

BACKGROUND Pneumonia is one of the major complications of drowning, but the optimal empirical antibiotic treatment is not clearly defined. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria and fungi have been identified in a recent series of freshwater drowning-associated pneumonia. However, microbial data in seawater drowning are scarce. The objective of the study is to describe the microorganisms isolated i...

The drowning syndromes should be viewed as a continuum between the aspiration of a relatively small amount of water, causing symptoms and respiratory-based signs, through near-drowning, in which there is loss of consciousness but with survival, to the fatal cases of drowning. The latter rarely involve the gross haemodynamic and biochemical changes seen in some animal experiments. The behaviour ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether the Victorian mandatory personal flotation device wearing regulations that came into effect on 1 December 2005 reduced drowning deaths among recreational boaters in Victoria, Australia. DESIGN A retrospective population-based 'before and after' study using Victorian coronial data on drowning deaths of occupants of recreational vessels operating in Victorian wa...

The histopathological alterations that permit the diagnosis of death by asphyxia are very unspecific, although pulmonary alterations are of great importance in this respect. The postmortem diagnosis of drowning, particularly, continues to be one of the most difficult in forensic pathology. The aim of this study is to jointly evaluate microscopic findings and immunohistochemical surfactant prote...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the causes of child drowning and determine the need for changes in the legislation as well as improvements to the inspection and enforcement of current legislation related to barriers surrounding private swimming pools. METHODS There were 3 stages to the study: a retrospective review of coroner's data, an audit of swimming pool inspections, and in-depth interviews wit...

OBJECTIVE Interventions that mitigate drowning risk in developing countries are needed. This study presents the cost-effectiveness of a low-cost, scalable injury and drowning prevention program called Prevention of Child Injuries through Social-Intervention and Education (PRECISE) in Bangladesh. METHODS Between 2006 and 2010, the 2 components of PRECISE (Anchal, which sequestered children in ...

We report here a rare case of acute renal failure following near-drowning in sea water. A 21-year old college student presented in acute renal failure 48 hours after a near-drowning event. Investigations revealed rhabdomyolysis to be the cause of renal failure.