Authors
Ahmet Güzel, Latif Duran, Sule Paksu, Hizir Ufuk Akdemir, Muhammet Sükrü Paksu, Celal Kati, Nursah Basol, Metehan Yilman, Sevinç Nursev Özsevik, Naci Murat
Publication date
2013/11/1
Journal
The Turkish journal of pediatrics
Volume
55
Issue
6
Pages
620
Publisher
Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine
Description
The aim of the study was to describe the characteristics of patients who applied to the Emergency Department (ED) due to submersion injury; to recognize the risk factors, complications, causes of death, and the educational needs of families and caregivers about unsafe environments for submersion; and to develop preventive strategies. All patients were analyzed retrospectively according to demographic features, clinical and laboratory findings, association between clinical variables and submersion injuries, and patient outcomes. Fifty-five patients with submersion injury were analyzed. The mean age of patients was 10.9 ± 4.7 years. The most common Szpilman clinical scores were Grade 1 (24 patients, 43.8%), Grade 2 (15 patients, 27.3%), and Grade 5 (10 patients, 18.2%). The common location of the submersion injuries included the sea (74.5%), pool (18.4%), bathtub (7.3%), river (3.6%), and lake (3.6%). A limited swimming ability or exhaustion and suffocation (49.1%) due to unknown reasons were the most common causes of submersion injury among all patients. Most complications were due to aspiration pneumonia and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Thirty-nine patients (70.9%) were followed in the ED, while 16 patients (29.1%) were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU); 11 patients (20.0%) died. All of the risk factors of drowning should be taken into account when designing preventive measures and family education. In addition, all pediatricians should be trained periodically about the complications of submersion and the treatment strategies, particularly in coastal cities and areas where drownings occur frequently.
Total citations
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Scholar articles
A Güzel, SN Özsevik, M Yılman, N Başol, C Katı… - The Turkish journal of pediatrics, 2013