All people who are pulled from the water after drowning should receive CPR with rescue breaths and chest compressions, according to updated guidance from the American Heart Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics. The guidelines were published in the journals Circulation and Pediatrics. The article in Pediatrics focuses on literature supporting changes to resuscitation guidelines for children, while the Circulation article includes literature backing updates on how to resuscitate both children and adults following drowning.
The guidelines also include a section on the "drowning chain of survival," which includes prevention, recognition of a person in distress, the use of flotation devices to prevent a person from going under, how to safely remove a person from the water and how to provide lifesaving care. "The focused update on drowning contains the most up-to-date, evidence-based recommendations on how to resuscitate someone who has drowned, offering practical guidance for health care professionals, trained rescuers, caregivers and families," writing group co-chair Dr. Tracy E.
McCallin said in a news release. McCallin is an associate professor of pediatrics in the division of pediatric emergency medicine at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland. Drowning is the third-leading cause of death from unintentional injury worldwide, accounting for an estimated 236,000 deaths each year, according to the World Health Organization.
It is the leading cause of .
