Resuscitation Following Drowning

Publication Date: November 12, 2024
Last Updated: November 13, 2024

Top 10 Take-Home Messages for Resuscitation of Children Following Drowning

  1. The Drowning Chain of Survival focuses on the primary prevention of drowning, which is vitally important for children; early recognition of drowning; and considerations for safe rescue and resuscitation.
  2. Our current recommendations for drowning resuscitation support standard pediatric basic life support (BLS) and pediatric advanced life support (ALS) as the cornerstones of resuscitation.
  3. In drowning resuscitation, airway management and ventilation are of particular importance because of the continuum from respiratory arrest to cardiac arrest following drowning.
  4. Immediate initiation of rescue breathing by trained rescuers may utilize the first means available (mouth-to-mouth, pocket mask, or bag-mask ventilation).
  5. Cardiac arrest following drowning is generally the result of severe hypoxemia; therefore, oxygen administration is recommended when available.
  6. Trained rescuers should provide rescue breaths as part of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in cardiac arrest following drowning and may initiate with breathing (airway, breathing, chest compressions) or with compressions (chest compressions, airway, breathing).
  7. Providing in-water rescue breathing, if the rescuer is appropriately trained and it’s safe to do so, may prevent the progression to cardiac arrest following drowning.
  8. The use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) after initiation of high-quality CPR may be lifesaving in cardiac arrests following drowning that present with shockable rhythms, which are a minority—especially in children.
  9. Public-access defibrillation (PAD) programs may yield important benefits when instituted in aquatic environments and large public areas where cardiac arrest may be more likely even when not the result of drowning.
  10. Knowledge gaps in drowning prevention and resuscitation require future research, especially in resource-limited regions.

Overview

Title

Resuscitation Following Drowning

Authoring Organizations

American Academy of Pediatrics

American Heart Association