Drowning Guidelines

Definition and Terminology

• The American Heart Association defines drowning as the process of experiencing respiratory insufficiency due to submersion or immersion in a liquid medium 1
• The Utstein guidelines recommend abandoning terms such as "dry vs. wet drowning", "active vs. passive vs. silent drowning", and "secondary drowning" in favor of more precise and uniform definitions 1
• The term "near-drowning" is no longer used, as it was previously used for victims who survived but caused confusion 1

Pathophysiology

• The drowning process follows a characteristic sequence: initial voluntary breath-holding, laryngospasm, progressive hypoxemia, and aspiration of liquid 1, 3

Prognostic Factors

• The duration of submersion is the primary predictor of outcome, representing the time of anoxia 3
• The Utstein guidelines recommend collecting essential data, including victim identification, sex, age, date and time of incident, precipitating event, and pre-existing medical conditions 2
• The Utstein guidelines also recommend collecting supplementary data, such as race/ethnicity and other factors that may be important but not essential 2