eMJA: Bystander basic life support: an important link in the chain of survival for children suffering a drowning or near-drowning episode

Public Health

Bystander basic life support: an important link in the chain of survival for children suffering a drowning or near-drowning episode

Jeanette Marchant, Nicholas G Cheng, Lawrence T Lam, Fiona E Fahy, S V Soundappan, Danny T Cass and Gary J Browne

MJA 2008; 188 (8): 484-485

Introduction

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Clinical record

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Discussion

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Competing interests

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Author details

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References

Eight children suffered drowning or near-drowning in Sydney pools over an 11-day period in January 2007. Four received basic life support (BLS) within 5 minutes of immersion and survived with good functional neurological outcomes. The other four were not discovered for ≥ 5 minutes and all died. This cluster serves as a reminder that timely effective bystander BLS is crucial to survival and good clinical outcomes in near-drowning episodes.

Clinical record

During an 11-day period in January 2007, eight children presented to several emergency departments in the Sydney metropolitan region after a drowning or near-drowning event. While these incidents are known to be more common in summer, it is relatively uncommon to have such a cluster of cases occurring within a short period of time.

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