Thursday, November 14

New Rescuer Guidelines Tackle Rise of Drowning Deaths in U.S.

Emergency Medicine
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Emergency Medicine


American Heart Association, American Academy of Pediatrics stress CPR with breaths, compressions

by
Nicole Lou, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today
November 12, 2024

Mouth-to-mouth CPR with chest compressions are still the priority when rescuing victims of drowning, according to a focused update of American resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular guidelines.

The American Heart Association (AHA) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a more codified and elaborate list of recommendations that replaces existing drowning guidelines from 2020 and years earlier.

Trained rescuers and laypeople alike are now formally advised that:

  • Anyone removed from the water without signs of normal breathing or consciousness should be presumed to be in cardiac arrest. Provide CPR — with rescue breaths and chest compressions — to all individuals in cardiac arrest following drowning after removal from the water. (Class I recommendation)
  • If a person is untrained, unwilling, or unable to give breaths, they can provide chest compressions only until help arrives. (Class IIa)
  • In both adults and children, automated external defibrillator (AED) use is reasonable in cardiac arrest even though shockable rhythms occur less commonly in the drowning process. (Class IIa)
  • Importantly, CPR should not be delayed to obtain or apply an AED on drowned people. (Class III)
  • Trained rescuers may find it reasonable to perform in-water rescue breathing on unresponsive adults and children only if it doesn’t compromise their own safety. (Class IIb)
  • Supplemental oxygen should be provided by trained rescuers to all people with cardiac arrest after drowning. (Class I)

“CPR for cardiac arrest due to drowning must focus on restoring breathing as well as restoring blood circulation,” said writing group co-chair Cameron Dezfulian, MD, critical care specialist of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, in a joint press release from AHA and AAP.

The present AHA-AAP drowning recommendations were published in two parts: a general publication addressing adult and pediatric victims in Circulation, and a separate paper specific to the resuscitation of children in Pediatrics.

Dezfulian and colleagues based their recommendations in part on recent systematic reviews from the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR).

“These updated guidelines are based on the latest available evidence and are designed to inform trained rescuers and the public how to proceed in resuscitating people who have drowned. Drowning can be fatal. Our recommendations maximize balancing the need for rapid rescue and resuscitation, while prioritizing rescuer safety,” Dezfulian said.

In most cases, cardiac arrest following drowning progresses from initial respiratory arrest due to submersion-related hypoxia. Less commonly, the drowning event may have occurred after a primary cardiac event.

“[T]hus, it can be challenging to distinguish respiratory arrest from cardiac arrest because pulses are difficult to accurately palpate within the recommended 10-second window. Therefore, resuscitation from cardiac arrest attributable to this specific circumstance must focus on restoring breathing as much as it does circulation,” the writing group reasoned.

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