Drowning in Denmark: A Registry-based Study of Fatal and Non-fatal Drowning From 2016 to 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to establish a nationwide epidemiological profile of non-fatal and fatal drowning patients in Denmark which can be used to target educational, preventative, rescue, or treatment strategies to reduce the number of fatal and non-fatal drowning incidents in Denmark.

Objectives

The primary objective is to estimate the yearly incidence rates of drowning patients in Denmark treated by the Danish Emergency Medical Services from 2016 to 2023. The secondary objective is to report the associations between predefined prognostic variables and 30-day survival.

Study design

A nationwide registry-based study with data from the Danish Drowning Cohort (extracted from the prehospital electronic health records using syndromic surveillance and extensive manual validation) from 2016 to 2023 with 30-day follow-up.

Inclusion criteria

• The patient must have been experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion or immersion in liquid AND
• The patient must have been in contact with the Danish prehospital emergency medical services.

Exclusion criteria

• Patients were excluded if the incident involved submersion or immersion with aspiration, but the patient did not experience respiratory impairment. For example, if the patient was rescued from the water without signs of respiratory impairment, or if the respondent reported "a few coughs" or "voluntary cough".