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Background: Drowning kills at least 372,000 people every year and is the 3rd leading cause of unintentional deaths. In addition to the human tragedy, drowning represents a huge economic problem with direct and indirect costs, including many Disability-Adjusted Life Years lost. In India, very little is known about the epidemiology of drowning. Objectives: The objective of the study was to study the incidence, manner, and epidemiology of deaths due to drowning in and around Kadapa region. Methods: The present study was conducted from January 2021 to December 2022 in Government Medical College, Kadapa on 154 cases to study the various epidemiological parameters of drowning. Results: In the study period, 1246 cases of postmortem examination were done, of which 154 cases were of drowning related deaths. A maximum number of cases were seen in the age group of 21–30 years with males 70.77% dominating the study population. 50.64% of deaths were accidental in nature and occurred during the rainy season. The most common place of occurrence of drowning was river 57.14% followed by wells 14.28%. Soddening of hands and feet was the most common external feature of drowning followed by the presence of froth at mouth and nostril. Conclusion: Drowning is a most ignored public hazard worldwide with serious implications for the society. Public awareness regarding safety measures and drowning prevention strategies suitable to the needs of geographical region should be adapted.

BACKGROUND Isobaric levobupivacaine has minimal effect on positional variation of sensory and motor blockade given intrathecally. Also, it has lesser cardiotoxic and neurotoxic effects. Present study was done to compare efficacy, analgesia haemodynamic effects and any adverse effects after spinal anaesthesia with isobaric levobupivacaine with nalbuphine and fentanyl as adjuvants in transurethral endoscopic surgeries. METHODS 60 male adult patients of American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA class I-III) of age group 40 - 80 years were randomized into 2 groups (n = 30) in this prospective, double blinded study. 10 mg of 0.5 % levobupivacaine with 25 µg fentanyl in group LF and 10 mg of 0.5 % levobupivacaine with 0.8 mg nalbuphine in group LN. Parameters assessed were sensory and motor blockade characteristics and hemodynamic variables in both the groups. Adverse effects were recorded if any. RESULTS Onset of sensory and motor blockade were significantly faster in group LF compared to group LN. In both the groups, time for two segment regression was comparable. Statistically significant prolonged analgesic duration was noticed in group with nalbuphine than fentanyl as adjuvant to isobaric levobupivacaine. Difference in haemodynamic variation was not significant in both the groups. CONCLUSIONS Intrathecal nalbuphine 0.8 mg as an adjuvant with isobaric levobupivacaine 0.5 % 10 mg is as efficacious as fentanyl 25µg in transurethral endoscopic surgeries in elderly population with better hemodynamic stability. KEY WORDS Levobupivacaine; Fentanyl; Nalbuphine; Spinal anaesthesia.