Updated guidance reaffirms the recommendation for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and highlights the importance of compressions with rescue breaths as a first step in responding to cardiac arrest following drowning, according to a new, focused update to Special Circumstances Guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics. The organizations have previously partnered on neonatal guidelines, however, this is the first collaboration on resuscitation after drowning. The recommendations are published today simultaneously in the flagship, peer-reviewed journals of each organization, Circulation and Pediatrics .
The publication in Pediatrics focuses on resuscitation of children following drowning and references pediatric literature, while the publication in Circulation is for resuscitation of both adults and children and includes literature addressing both populations. Drowning is the third-leading cause of death from unintentional injury worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates there are about 236,000 deaths due to drowning each year globally.
According to the CDC, it's the number one cause of death for children ages 1-4 years old in the U.S. Disparities in access to swim lessons and other preventive strategies have created inequities; among children ages 17 and younger, U.
S. drowning rates are highest among Black and American Indian and Alaska Native individuals. "The focused update on drowning contains the most up-to-date, evide.