Drowning Incidents Treated by the Danish SAR Helicopters

Completed

• Conditions: Drowning or Immersion of Unknown Intent; Drowning and Submersion, Undetermined Intent; Drowning; Drowning, Near; Drowning and Nonfatal Submersion; Drowning and Submersion Due to Fall Off Ship; Drown; Drowning; Anoxia; Drowning and Submersion While in Natural Water; Drowning and Submersion Due to Sailboat Sinking
• Interventions: Other: Drowning incident

• Registration Number: NCT06322134
• Lead Sponsor: Prehospital Center, Region Zealand

Brief Summary

Improving oxygenation and ventilation in drowning patients early in the field is critical and may be lifesaving. This may be achieved by helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) such as the Danish Air Ambulance, or the Royal Danish Air Force's Search And Rescue (SAR) helicopters. The SAR operates in all weather conditions and is equipped with a hoist system, able to hoist patients from the sea or small ships without helipads. This study aimed to estimate the incidence of drowning missions attended by the Royal Danish Air Force's SAR helicopter and describe patient characteristics and prehospital interventions.

Detailed Description

The national Danish Drowning Cohort contains data on all fatal and non-fatal drowning patients treated by the Emergency Medical Services. However, data on drowning patients treated by the SAR helicopters is reported in a separate system.

The population of drowning patients treated by the SAR helicopters has never been described, thus contributing to the potential underreporting of the most critically ill drowning patients in Denmark. Given the rarity of drowning, registry-based studies are needed to provide patient characteristics and evaluate critical care interventions performed on this group of patients.

This study aims to identify and describe a national cohort of drowning patients at sea treated by the Royal Danish Air Force's SAR helicopters from 2014 to 2023.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2014-01-01
• Primary Completion: 2024-01-31
• Study First Submitted: 2024-03-07
• Study First Submitted QC: 2024-03-13
• Study First Posted: 2024-03-20
• Study Completion: 2024-10-31
• Status Verified: 2024-12
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-12-01
• Last Update Posted: 2024-12-04

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 247

Inclusion Criteria

• Patients treated by the Danish SAR helicopters AND
• Drowning as defined by the WHO (the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion or immersion in liquid)

Exclusion Criteria

• Patients who have not been immersed or submersed.
• Duplets.
• Interhospital transfers.

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Fatal drowning	Drowning incident	Drowning incidents where the patient dies within 30 days after the incident as a consequence of the submersion or immersion injury
Non-fatal drowning	Drowning incident	Drowning incidents where the patient survive to 30 days after the submersion or immersion injury.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Annual incidence of drowning treated by the Danish SAR helicopters from 2014-2023	1 year	The incidence will be reported as the annual number of cases.
Annual incidence rate of drowning treated by the Danish SAR helicopters from 2014-2023	1 year	The incidence rate as the annual number of cases per 100,000 person-years.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Spatial distribution of drowning patients treated by the Danish SAR helicopters from 2014-2023	The map will display all drowning incidents treated by the Danish SAR helicopters from 2014-2023.	The spatial distribution of drowning incidents will be displayed on a map of Denmark, with each case presented with a single entry based on the geographical coordinates of the incident.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Prehospital Center; 🇩🇰 Næstved, Region Zealand, Denmark