Mortality among drowning rescuers in China, 2013: a review of 225 rescue incidents from the press

Abstract

BackgroundDrowning is common worldwide. Rescue efforts attempted by untrained bystanders often lead to the death of the primary drowning victim (PDV), the rescuer or both. Our study aimed to inform prevention by identifying risk factors in rescuer drowning.MethodsData on drowning rescue incidents reported online in mainland China, 2013, were reviewed. Information on the drowning incidents, PDVs and rescuers were retrieved for analysis.ResultsA total of 225 rescue incidents were identified, of which 14 were victim-rescuer drowning incidents (VRDIs) (6.2 %). A person-to-person rescue by swimming to PDVs was the most commonly used method (58.9 %). Resuscitation was given immediately to 35.5 % of PDVs after rescue. The mortality rate of the rescuers (13.3 %) was similar to that of the PDVs (11.5 %) (χ2 = 0.5, p =0.49). Being an adult (OR = 0.2, 95 % CI: 0.1–0.5) and other than the first rescuer (OR = 0.4, 95 % CI: 0.2–0.9) decreased the risk of rescuers drowning.ConclusionsMost of the currently employed life-saving methods are dangerous and even potentially life threatening. The idea of “rescuers’ safety first” should be embraced, especially with teenage and child rescuers, who should never be encouraged to rescue others without first guaranteeing their own safety. Promotion of basic rescue skills should be implemented in the general public.

Who rescues who? Understanding aquatic rescues in Australia using coronial data and a survey

“…At Rio de Janeiro beaches in Brazil, data shows 290 rescues for each reported death and one death for each 10 victims admitted for medical care 27 . Across all studies, the majority of rescuers were male 11,24–27 …”

“…Tragically, every year there are cases of AVIR syndrome, 9,10 a global phenomenon recognised in studies from mainland China, 24 New Zealand, 11 Turkey, 25 the Netherlands 26 and Brazil 27 . A study of Chinese media reports in 2013 identified 225 rescue‐related fatal drownings 24 . In New Zealand, 81 people have fatally drowned while attempting a rescue in the 32 years between 1980 and 2012, with all occurring in natural waterways 11 .…”

“…Understanding aquatic rescues in Australia using coronial data and a survey Richard C. Franklin, 1,2 Amy E. Peden, 1,2 Robert W. Brander, 3 Peter A. Leggat 1,4 identified, 23 with bystanders trained in safe rescue and resuscitation identified as being less likely to place themselves at risk of drowning. 12 Tragically, every year there are cases of AVIR syndrome, 9,10 a global phenomenon recognised in studies from mainland China, 24 New Zealand, 11 Turkey, 25 the Netherlands 26 and Brazil. 27 A study of Chinese media reports in 2013 identified 225 rescue-related fatal drownings.…”

“…27 A study of Chinese media reports in 2013 identified 225 rescue-related fatal drownings. 24 In New Zealand, 81 people have fatally drowned while attempting a rescue in the 32 years between 1980 and 2012, with all occurring in natural waterways. 11 In Turkey, 88 incidents claimed the lives of 114 rescuers and 60 rescuees between 2005 and 2008.…”

The potential use of social media and other internet-related data and communications for child maltreatment surveillance and epidemiological research: Scoping review and recommendations

“…Text mining of media reports may reduce the resources required for identification of articles but may not perform as well as human analysts (Collier, 2011). Human analysts have also been used to identify newspaper and website articles associated with drowning or near-drowning (Ferretti, De Angelis, Donati, & Torre, 2014;Zhu, Jiang, Li, Li, & Chen, 2015) and sudden cardiac death in athletes (Choi, Pan, Pock, & Chang, 2013).…”