Drowning in the United States: Patient and scene characteristics using the novel CARES drowning variables.
Resuscitation · 2023-04-06 · Registry study
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Drowning results in more than 360,000 deaths annually, making it the 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide. Prior studies examining drowning internationally have reviewed factors surrounding drowning however in the U.S. limited data exists. This study evaluated the novel drowning elements collected in the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) during the first 2 years of data collection. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of the CARES database identified cases of drowning etiology for the two years 2020 and 2021. Demographics and incident characteristics were collected. Characteristics included items such as body of water, precipitating event, and who extracted patients. Survival to hospital discharge and neurological outcomes were compared between groups based on who initiated CPR using Pearson's Chi-Squared tests. RESULTS: Among 1,767 drowning cases, 69.7% were male, 47.1% white and 11.9% survived to hospital discharge. Body of water was often natural body (36.2%) or swimming pool (25.9%) and bystanders removed the patient in 42.7% of incidents. Swimming was the most common activity at time of submersion (18.6%) however in 50.2% of cases, activity was unknown or missing. When compared to EMS/First Responder initiating CPR, odds of neurologically favorable survival were significantly higher in the Bystander initiated CPR group (OR = 2.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.02-4.01). CONCLUSION: In this national cohort of drowning patients in cardiac arrest, the novel CARES drowning elements provide additional detail of epidemiological factors. Bystander CPR was associated with improved neurological outcomes. Future studies utilizing the drowning elements can inform injury prevention strategies.
Abstract © the authors or publisher, via PubMed. Reuse and removal
Tags
Bystanders · Mortality & survival · Quality of life & function
Related articles
- Bystander CPR is associated with improved neurologically favourable survival in cardiac arrest following drowning. (Resuscitation, 2017)
- Bystander-initiated conventional vs compression-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation and outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to drowning. (Resuscitation, 2019)
- Bystander basic life support: an important link in the chain of survival for children suffering a drowning or near-drowning episode. (Med J Aust, 2008)
- Time to Bystander Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Survival Outcomes in Pediatric Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests in the United States. (Circ Popul Health Outcomes, 2026)
- Cardiac Arrest Care on United States Golf Courses-Up to Par Yet? (J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open, 2026)
- Community-level bystander treatment and outcomes for witnessed out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the state of Connecticut. (Resusc Plus, 2024)