A Report of Three Cases Presenting to the Emergency Department due to Near-Drowning

Year 2022, Volume: 13 Issue: 2, 66 - 69, 23.06.2022

Erdal Yavuz , Kasım Turgut , Umut Gülaçtı , İrfan Aydın , Ebru Arslan , Oğuzhan Özcan

https://doi.org/10.33706/jemcr.1062457

Abstract

Introduction: The frequency of drowning increases with the warming of the weather, especially in summer months. In this paper, the clinical features, radiological imaging and laboratory values of three patients who presented to the emergency department due to near-drowning are discussed comparatively.
Case Report: In Case 1 and 3, advanced life support was applied at the scene and spontaneous circulation was restored. Case 2 presented with the complaint of dyspnea. Cases 1 and 3 died after being admitted to the intensive care unit, while Case 2 was discharged with full recovery.
Conclusion: Diffuse ground-glass opacities were detected in the early thorax computed tomography imaging of all three cases. In addition, there were early increases in laboratory values in all three cases, with the highest increases being observed in aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and creatinine kinase values. This suggests that tissue perfusion disorder develops in the early period.

Keywords

Drowning, emergency department, clinical features, laboratory values

Project Number

YOK

References

• [1] Restrepo CS, Ortiz C, Singh AK, Sannananja B. Near-drowning: Epidemiology, pathophysiology and imaging findings. J Trauma Care, 2017;3:(1026).
• [2] Tyler MD, Richards DB, Reske-Nielsen C, Saghafi O, Morse EA, Carey R et al. The epidemiology of drowning in low-and middle-income countries: a systematic review. BMC public health, 2017;17(1): 1-7.
• [3] Schilling UM, Bortolin M. Drowning. Minerva anestesiologica, 2011;78(1);69-77.
• [4] Abelairas-Gomez C, Tipton MJ, González-Salvado V, Bierens, JJ. ( Drowning: epidemiology, prevention, pathophysiology, resuscitation, and hospital treatment. Emergencias: revista de la Sociedad Espanola de Medicina de Emergencias, 2019;31(4): 270-280.
• [5] Suen KFK, Leung R, Leung LP. Therapeutic Hypothermia for asphyxial out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to drowning: a systematic review of case series and case reports. Therapeutic hypothermia and temperature management, 2017;7(4):210-221.
• [6] Mosayebi Z, Movahedian AH, Mousavi GA. Drowning in children in Iran: outcomes and prognostic factors. Med J Malaysia 2011;66:187-90.
• [7] Oehmichen M, Hennig R, Meissner C. Near-drowning and clinical laboratory changes. Legal Medicine,2008;10(1):1-5.