Drowning

Published on 14/03/2015 by admin

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Last modified 14/03/2015

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Chapter 29 Drowning

PATHOPHYSIOLOGY

The concepts of ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ drowning, based on the presumption that a variable degree of laryngospasm occurs which, in some patients, prevents any aspiration of water or other substances into the airway, bronchial tree and lungs, were discarded at the World Congress on Drowning.

The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) advisory statement on drowning describes an involuntary period of laryngospasm secondary to the presence of liquid in the oropharynx or larynx. It has been described that most patients aspirate less than 4 mL kg–1 of fluid and that approximately 10–20% of individuals maintain tight laryngospasm until cardiac arrest occurs and inspiratory efforts have ceased. This has been confirmed by autopsy studies, with 10% of patients showing no aspiration and approximately 20% of patients presenting with normal chest radiographs. Other sources suggest that drowning probably never occurs without aspiration to some degree.

What appears clear is that initial voluntary breath holding precedes a variable degree of aspiration of water, followed eventually by apnoea, with the common pathway in all drowning being profound hypoxia associated with acidosis and hypercapnoeia. This hypoxia not only leads to unconsciousness, loss of airway reflexes and aspiration, but also leads to the cardiovascular effects of drowning. These include extreme bradycardia, ventricular fibrillation and asystole, which are often exacerbated by hypothermia in cold waters. Hypothermia is common in child victims of drowning due to their large surface area:body mass ratio and, although hypothermia has been associated with a poor prognosis after drowning as it is related to the duration of submersion, it has also been associated with a better prognosis, particularly in children, presumably due to a protective effect on cerebral organ function with the rapid onset of low temperatures. There have been several cases reported of survival of both children and adults following submersion in cold water for up to 66 minutes.

Following early survival, lethal hypoxia may still develop. However, in these later instances it is due to the effects of surfactant disruption and abnormal function, atelectasis and intrapulmonary shunting. This profound secondary hypoxia may itself lead to respiratory failure and cardiac arrest.

In some groups of patients, aspiration of sand, silt, stagnant water, sewage and vomitus may result in bronchial occlusion, bronchospasm, inflammatory damage to alveolar capillary membranes, abscess formation and pneumonia. Late, atypical pneumonias may be caused by less common pathogens such as Aeromonas, Pseudallescheria and Burkholderia.

OUTCOME

The commonest cause of death in hospitalised drowning patients is post-hypoxic encephalopathy. Other common causes of death are acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), multi-organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) or sepsis syndrome.

Generally speaking, judging prognosis after a drowning incident is difficult, but there are recognised associations with particular outcomes. Pointers towards poor prognosis include:

Individuals with any of these features have been reported to survive without disability, although the chances of successful resuscitation to a favourable neurological outcome are usually slim. Importantly, age has no independent association with outcome.

Examination

Examination should follow a systematic course as described by ABCDE. Treatment should follow the same schema and should be delivered in systems when any abnormality is identified.

Drowning victims may be classified into one of four groups based on presenting physical examination:

cardiopulmonary arrest

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