Risk Factors for Traumatic Injury in Submersion Victims

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.

To read more or access our algorithms and calculators, please log in or register.