A submersion victim may have acute traumatic injuries. These can affect how the patient is recovered and resuscitated.
Risk Factor |
Associated Traumatic Injury |
diving into shallow water |
cervical spine |
blunt trauma to head |
cervical spine |
fall from height |
intra-thoracic, intra-abdominal, spinal, fractures |
impact at high speed (from a high speed motor boat, etc.) |
intra-thoracic, intra-abdominal, spinal, fractures |
impact following blast or underwater explosion |
barotrauma, including pneumothorax, intra-abdominal and intra-thoracic injuries |
projections in water (submerged trees, metals rods, etc.) |
impalement |
associated with motor boats |
prop injuries |
associated with a submerged car |
steering wheel and dashboard impact |
Implications:
(1) The cervical spine should be stabilized if there is any doubt of cervical spine injury. This makes securing the airway a priority.
(2) If other spinal injury is possible, then the patient should be handled on a trauma board.
(3) The patient should be evaluated for evidence of pneumothorax after blast injury.
Specialty: Emergency Medicine, Critical Care, Pulmonology
ICD-10: ,