Cervical spine immobilisation is only required in drowning patients at high risk of axial loading of the spine
Thom, Ogilvie, Roberts, Kym, Leggat, Peter A., Devine, Susan, Peden, Amy E., and Franklin, Richard (2023) Cervical spine immobilisation is only required in drowning patients at high risk of axial loading of the spine. Emergency Medicine Australasia, 35 (1). pp. 18-24.
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Abstract
Objectives: Wave forced impacts are known to result in cervical spine injuries (CSI) and approximately 20% of drownings in Australia occur at the beach. The most common mechanism of injury in studies examining the frequency of CSI in drowning patients is shallow water diving. The aim of the present study was to determine what proportion of CSIs occurring in bodies of water experienced a concomitant drowning injury in a location where wave forced impacts are likely to be an additional risk factor.
Methods Electronic medical records at the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service EDs, Queensland Ambulance Service case records and Surf Life Saving Queensland data between 1 January 2015 and 21 April 2021 were manually linked. Outcomes recorded included victim demographics, scene information, hospital course and patient disposition.
Results Ninety-one of 574 (15.9%) CSIs occurred in a body of water with risk of drowning. However, only 4 (4.3%) had a simultaneous drowning injury, representing 0.8% (4/483) of drowning presentations. Ten (10.9%) patients reported loss of consciousness, including the four with drowning. The principal mechanism of CSI was a wave forced impact (71/91, 78%). Most injuries occurred at the beach (79/91, 86.8%). Delayed presentation was common (28/91, 31%). A history of axial loading was 100% sensitive when indicating imaging.
Conclusions The combination of CSI and drowning is uncommon. Cervical spine precautions are only required in drowning patients with signs or a history, or at high risk of, axial loading of the spine. This paper supports the move away from routine cervical spine precautions even in a high-risk population.
| Item ID: | 75710 |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 1742-6723 |
| Keywords: | cervical vertebrae injury, drowning, emergency medicine |
| Copyright Information: | © 2022 The Authors. Emergency Medicine Australasia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. |
| Date Deposited: | 10 Aug 2022 08:11 |
| FoR Codes: | 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4202 Epidemiology > 420202 Disease surveillance @ 50% 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4206 Public health > 420604 Injury prevention @ 50% |
| SEO Codes: | 20 HEALTH > 2001 Clinical health > 200105 Treatment of human diseases and conditions @ 50% 20 HEALTH > 2004 Public health (excl. specific population health) > 200408 Injury prevention and control @ 50% |
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