Drown, Drowning, Drowning and Nonfatal Submersion, Drowning and Submersion Due to Fall Off Ship, Drowning and Submersion Due to Sailboat Sinking, Drowning and Submersion, Undetermined Intent, Drowning and Submersion While in Natural Water, Drowning; Anoxia, Drowning, Near, Drowning or Immersion of Unknown Intent
Conditions
Keywords
Drowning, Danish Drowning Formula, Royal Danish Air Force, Search And Rescue (SAR), Emergency Medical Service (EMS), Registry, Retrospective, Epidemiology, Danish Prehospital Drowning Data
Brief summary
Improving oxygenation and ventilation in drowning patients early in the field is critical and may be lifesaving. This may be achieved by helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) such as the Danish Air Ambulance, or the Royal Danish Air Force's Search And Rescue (SAR) helicopters. The SAR operates in all weather conditions and is equipped with a hoist system, able to hoist patients from the sea or small ships without helipads. This study aimed to estimate the incidence of drowning missions attended by the Royal Danish Air Force's SAR helicopter and describe patient characteristics and prehospital interventions.
Detailed description
The national Danish Drowning Cohort contains data on all fatal and non-fatal drowning patients treated by the Emergency Medical Services. However, data on drowning patients treated by the SAR helicopters is reported in a separate system. The population of drowning patients treated by the SAR helicopters has never been described, thus contributing to the potential underreporting of the most critically ill drowning patients in Denmark. Given the rarity of drowning, registry-based studies are needed to provide patient characteristics and evaluate critical care interventions performed on this group of patients. This study aims to identify and describe a national cohort of drowning patients at sea treated by the Royal Danish Air Force's SAR helicopters from 2014 to 2023.
Interventions
OTHERDrowning incident
Patients categorized as drowning have been experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion or immersion in liquid and needing rescue by the Royal Danish Air Force's Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopters.
Sponsors
Danish Defence
Prehospital Center, Region Zealand
Study design
Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
RETROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Patients treated by the Danish SAR helicopters AND * Drowning as defined by the WHO (the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion or immersion in liquid)
Exclusion criteria
* Patients who have not been immersed or submersed. * Duplets. * Interhospital transfers.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Annual incidence of drowning treated by the Danish SAR helicopters from 2014-2023 | 1 year | The incidence will be reported as the annual number of cases. |
| Annual incidence rate of drowning treated by the Danish SAR helicopters from 2014-2023 | 1 year | The incidence rate as the annual number of cases per 100,000 person-years. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Spatial distribution of drowning patients treated by the Danish SAR helicopters from 2014-2023 | The map will display all drowning incidents treated by the Danish SAR helicopters from 2014-2023. | The spatial distribution of drowning incidents will be displayed on a map of Denmark, with each case presented with a single entry based on the geographical coordinates of the incident. |
Countries
Denmark
Outcome results
None listed