@article{ref1,
title="Childhood drownings: an opportunity for injury prevention in a resource-limited setting",
journal="Journal of tropical pediatrics",
year="2022",
author="Akinkuotu, Adesola C. and Purcell, Laura N. and Varela, Carlos and Hayes, Andrea and Charles, Anthony",
volume="68",
number="5",
pages="fmac057-fmac057",
abstract="INTRODUCTION: Drowning is a public health problem that is under-reported in Africa. We sought to evaluate the epidemiology and risk factors for drownings in Malawi. <br><br>METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of all pediatric (≤15 years old) patients who presented following a drowning incident to Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi, from 2009-19. Demographics and outcomes were compared between survivors and non-survivors. Logistic multivariate regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with increased odds of mortality. <br><br>RESULTS: There were 156 pediatric drowning victims during the study period. The median age at presentation was 3 (IQR: 2-7 years). Survivors were younger [median age: 2 years (IQR: 2-5) vs. 5 years (IQR: 2-10), p = 0.004], with a higher proportion of drownings occurring at home (85.6% vs. 58.3%, p = 0.001) compared to non-survivors. Patients who had a drowning event at a public space had increased odds of mortality (OR 8.17, 95% CI 2.34-28.6). Patients who were transferred (OR 0.03, 95% CI 0.003-0.25) and had other injuries (OR 0.20, 95% CI 0.06-0.70) had decreased odds of mortality following drowning. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Over half of pediatric drowning victims at a tertiary-care facility in Malawi survived. Drowning survivors were significantly younger, more likely to have drowned at home, and transported by private vehicles and minibus than non-survivors. There is a need for scalable, cost-effective drowning prevention strategies that focus on water safety education and training community members and police officers in basic life support and resuscitation.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0142-6338",
doi="10.1093/tropej/fmac057",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/tropej/fmac057"
}