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Preventing choking and suffocation in children

Claude Cyr,

    Paediatrics & Child Health
    |February 2, 2013
    PubMed

    Insights

    Prevent choking, suffocation, and strangulation injuries in children. These common childhood injuries are preventable through safety measures, education, and prompt medical response like cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

    Area of Science:

    • Pediatric Safety
    • Injury Prevention Science

    Background:

    • Choking, suffocation, and strangulation are leading causes of unintentional injury and death in young children.
    • These incidents disproportionately affect infants and toddlers.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To review definitions, epidemiology, and effective prevention strategies for pediatric choking, suffocation, and strangulation.
    • To provide recommendations for reducing these injuries.

    Main Methods:

    • Review of existing literature on pediatric choking, suffocation, and strangulation.
    • Synthesis of data on injury causes and prevention effectiveness.

    Main Results:

    • Nearly all choking, suffocation, and strangulation deaths and injuries are preventable.
    • Effective strategies encompass safety improvements, research, surveillance, legislation, product design, and education.

    Conclusions:

    • Paediatric health care providers should educate caregivers on injury prevention and first aid.
    • Encouraging cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and choking first aid training is crucial.

    Keywords:
    Anticipatory guidanceChokingInjury preventionStrangulationSuffocation

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