Bystander basic life support: An important link in the chain of survival for children suffering a drowning or near-drowning episode

Authors

Jeanette Marchant
Nicholas G. Cheng, University of Notre Dame Australia
Lawrence T. Lam, University of Notre Dame AustraliaFollow
Fiona E. Fahy
S V. Soundappan
Danny T. Cass
Gary J. Browne

Publication Details

Marchant, J., Cheng, N. G., Lam, L. T., Fahy, F. E., Soundappan, S. V., Cass D. T., & Browne, G. J. (2008). Bystander basic life support: an important link in the chain of survival for children suffering a drowning or near-drowning. Medical Journal of Australia, 188(8), 484-485.

Abstract

Eight children suffered drowning or near-drowning in Sydney pools over an 11-day period in January 2007. Four received basic life support (BLS) within 5 minutes of immersion and survived with good functional neurological outcomes. The other four were not discovered for ≥ 5 minutes and all died. This cluster serves as a reminder that timely effective bystander BLS is crucial to survival and good clinical outcomes in near-drowning episodes.

Keywords

peer-reviewed