The Emergency Call on Drowning

NCT06310486 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: DROWN_CALL
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 1,500
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study aims to 1) describe patient-, setting-, and dispatcher-related characteristics in drowning-related emergency calls to the Emergency Medical Dispatch Centre (1-1-2 emergency phone) and 2) factors associated with 30-day survival. The investigators will separately analyse drowning-related out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and drowning-related non-OHCA. If feasible, the investigators will qualitatively analyse the calls to identify and describe potential barriers for an optimal handling strategy.

Conditions

Drowning; Drowning; Anoxia; Drowning, Near; Drowning; Asphyxia; Drowning and Nonfatal Submersion; Drowning or Immersion of Unknown Intent; Drowning and Submersion, Undetermined Intent; Drowning and Submersion While in Bath-Tub; Drowning and Submersion While in Natural Water; Drowning and Submersion Due to Sailboat Sinking; Drowning and Submersion Due to Fall Off Ship; Drowning and Submersion While in Swimming-Pool

Keywords

Emergency Medical Service (EMS); Drowning; Emergency Medical Dispatch Centre; Emergency Medical Coordination Centre; Dispatch; Emergency Call; Registry; Database; Epidemiology; Danish Drowning Formula; Danish Prehospital Drowning Data; Utstein

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Patient-related characteristics influencing the 30-day survival

  Describe patient-related characteristics in drowning-related emergency calls to the EMDC (1-1-2 emergency phone)

  30 days after the drowning incident

• Setting-related characteristics influencing the 30-day survival

  Describe setting-related characteristics in drowning-related emergency calls to the EMDC (1-1-2 emergency phone)

  30 days after the drowning incident

• Caller-related characteristics influencing the 30-day survival

  Describe caller-related characteristics in drowning-related emergency calls to the EMDC (1-1-2 emergency phone)

  30 days after the drowning incident

• Dispatcher-related characteristics influencing the 30-day survival

  Describe dispatcher-related characteristics in drowning-related emergency calls to the EMDC (1-1-2 emergency phone)

  30 days after the drowning incident

Study Arms (2)

Fatal drowning

These patients experienced a drowning incident and died within 30 days after the incident because of their submersion injury.

Other: Drowning-related OHCA; Other: Drowning-related non-OHCA

Non-fatal drowning

These patients experienced a drowning incident and survived until 30 days after the incident.

Other: Drowning-related OHCA; Other: Drowning-related non-OHCA

Interventions

Drowning-related OHCA OTHER

These patients were involved in a drowning incident (submersion or immersion in liquid) and experienced out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), defined as being unconscious and not breathing normally at any time in the prehospital setting. Some of these patients may die as a consequence of the submersion injury (fatal drowning), while others may survive (non-fatal drowning).

Fatal drowning; Non-fatal drowning

Drowning-related non-OHCA OTHER

These patients were involved in a drowning incident (submersion or immersion in liquid) but did not experience an OHCA. Some of these patients may die as a consequence of the submersion injury (fatal drowning), while others may survive (non-fatal drowning).

Fatal drowning; Non-fatal drowning

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

All validated drowning cases registered in the Danish Prehospital Drowning Data will be linked with data from the EMDC database according to a data minimisation principle. Patients are included in the Danish Prehospital Drowning Data if they have experienced a drowning incident between 2016 and 2023, defined as experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion or immersion in liquid.

You may qualify if:

• Patients at all ages registered in the Danish Prehospital Drowning Data are eligible.

You may not qualify if:

• Obvious clinical signs of irreversible death (decapitation, decomposition, post-mortem lividity, post-mortem rigidity)
• A valid Do-Not-Attempt-Resuscitation (DNAR) order or other code status orders limiting life-sustaining therapies
• Missing or corrupted audio files
• Missing identification number
• Missing 30-day survival

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Prehospital Center, Region Zealand: lead

Study Sites (1)

Prehospital Center Region Zealand

Næstved, 4700, Denmark

RECRUITING

Related Publications (2)

• Breindahl N, Wolthers SA, Jensen TW, Holgersen MG, Blomberg SNF, Steinmetz J, Christensen HC; Danish Cardiac Arrest Group. Danish Drowning Formula for identification of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest from drowning. Am J Emerg Med. 2023 Nov;73:55-62. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2023.08.024. Epub 2023 Aug 15.

  PMID: 37619443 BACKGROUND

• Breindahl N, Wolthers SA, Moller TP, Blomberg SNF, Steinmetz J, Christensen HC; Danish Drowning Validation Group. Characteristics and critical care interventions in drowning patients treated by the Danish Air Ambulance from 2016 to 2021: a nationwide registry-based study with 30-day follow-up. Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med. 2024 Mar 6;32(1):17. doi: 10.1186/s13049-024-01189-y.

  PMID: 38448994 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Drowning; Hypoxia; Near Drowning; Asphyxia

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Death; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Wounds and Injuries; Signs and Symptoms, Respiratory; Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Helle Collatz Christensen, MD, PhD, Ass. Prof.

  Prehospital Center, Region Zealand

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Central Study Contacts

Niklas Breindahl, MD, PhD

CONTACT

+4528566410; niklas.breindahl@gmail.com

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: RETROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 7, 2024
• First Posted: March 15, 2024
• Study Start: January 1, 2016
• Primary Completion: December 31, 2025
• Study Completion: December 31, 2025
• Last Updated: June 4, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

DK (1)