title: Drowning after falling from a medium-height bridge: multiple trauma victims.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Drowning following a fall from a bridge can lead to cardiac arrest caused by hypoxia, hypothermia, or severe traumatic injury. Every year patients are brought to our hospital who have nearly drowned in the local river after a jump from a bridge (approximate height 16-22 meters). We report traumatic injuries in patients admitted to our hospital for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to drowning.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed the charts of all patients admitted to the intensive care units of our hospital for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to drowning after a jump from a bridge in the Seine River between 2002 and 2010. All clinical or radiologic evidence of trauma was recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 37 patients where admitted to our hospital for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to drowning. Fourteen patients had radiologic examinations. Five of these examinations showed evidence of severe trauma. In one case, clinical examination showed evidence of severe peripheral neurologic trauma. Seven of these patients (19%) were discharged from the hospital alive.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients found nearly drowned in a river spanned by a medium-height bridge should undergo spinal immobilization and complete radiologic examination as soon as possible.
authors.affiliation: Service de Réanimation Médicale, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, 20-40, rue Leblanc, 75908 Paris cedex 15, France.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Heming
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Serve
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Imbert
authors.forename: Gildas
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ducharne
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Diehl
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guérot
authors.forename: Jean-Yves
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Fagon
authors.forename: Jean-Marc
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Tadié
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D009104:Multiple Trauma; D015701:Near Drowning / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D045483:Rivers; D013406:Suicide, Attempted