Effect of prehospital respiratory interventions on pediatric drowning outcomes

Oluwatosin Adenuga1, Elizabeth A Camp1, Rakesh D Mistry2

  • 1Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, 6621 Fannin, Suite A 2210, Houston, TX, USA.

Resuscitation
|March 12, 2026
PubMed

Insights

In pediatric drowning, endotracheal intubation showed no significant survival or neurological benefit over bag-valve mask for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients. Supplemental oxygen also did not impact outcomes in non-cardiac arrest cases.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Resuscitation Science
  • Drowning Research

Background:

  • Effective respiratory management is crucial in pediatric drowning resuscitation.
  • Prehospital airway adjuncts and oxygen administration are key interventions.
  • This study investigates their impact on drowning outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effect of prehospital airway adjuncts and supplemental oxygen on pediatric drowning outcomes.
  • To compare endotracheal intubation versus bag-valve mask (BVM) in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) drowning.
  • To assess supplemental oxygen use in non-OHCA drowning patients.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional sub-analysis of 3,188 pediatric drowning patients (2010-2017).
  • Data collected from prehospital and medical records.
  • Patients categorized by OHCA status; interventions analyzed using logistic regression.

Main Results:

  • Among 213 OHCA patients, intubation vs. BVM showed no significant difference in survival or favorable neurological outcome.
  • In 2,975 non-OHCA patients, supplemental oxygen did not significantly alter outcomes.
  • No significant differences in outcomes were observed based on respiratory interventions.

Conclusions:

  • Endotracheal intubation is not associated with improved outcomes compared to BVM in pediatric drowning with OHCA.
  • Prehospital supplemental oxygen does not significantly impact outcomes in non-OHCA pediatric drowning.
  • Current prehospital respiratory strategies may not significantly alter pediatric drowning resuscitation results.
Abstract

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