@article{ref1,
title="Drowning fatalities in childhood: the role of pre-existing medical conditions",
journal="Archives of disease in childhood",
year="2017",
author="Franklin, Richard Charles and Pearn, John H. and Peden, Amy Elizabeth",
volume="102",
number="10",
pages="888-893",
abstract="OBJECTIVES: This study is an analysis of the contribution of pre-existing medical conditions to unintentional fatal child (0-14 years) drowning and a of critique prevention stratagems, with an exploration of issues of equity in recreation. <br><br>DESIGN: This study is a total population, cross-sectional audit of all demographic, forensic and on-site situational details surrounding unintentional fatal drowning of children 0-14 years in Australia for the period of 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2012. Data were sourced from the National (Australia) Coronial Information System. Age-specific disease patterns in the general population were obtained from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. <br><br>RESULTS: Four hundred and sixty-eight children drowned during the study period. Fifty-three (11.3%) had a pre-existing medical condition, of whom 19 suffered from epilepsy, 13 from autism and 5 with non-specific intellectual disabilities. Epilepsy is a risk factor in childhood drowning deaths, with a prevalence of 4.1% of drowning fatalities, compared with 0.7%-1.7% among the general 0-14 years population (relative risk: 2.4-5.8). Epilepsy was deemed to be contributory in 16 of 19 cases (84.2% of epilepsy cases) with a median age of 8 years. Asthma and intellectual disabilities were under-represented in the drowning cohort. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Except for epilepsy, this research has indicated that the risks of drowning while undertaking aquatic activities are not increased in children with pre-existing medical conditions. Children with pre-existing medical conditions can enjoy aquatic activities when appropriately supervised.<br><br>© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0003-9888",
doi="10.1136/archdischild-2017-312684",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2017-312684"
}