RÉSUMÉ
Objective:To summarize the clinical characteristics and first aid measures of children with drowning，and to provide scientific basis for the treatment and prevention of drowning in children.Methods:The clinical data of drowning children admitted to the Children's Medical Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University（Hunan Provincial People's Hospital）from January 2011 to December 2021 were retrospectively summarized. Baseline characteristics，prehospital emergency care and prognosis of the included children were analyzed.According to the time span, drowning children were divided into two stages, the first stage (2011-2016) and the second stage (2017-2021). According to cerebral performance category assessment scale,drowning children with cardiac arrest were divided into two groups: a group with good neurological prognosis and a group with poor neurological prognosis. The baseline characteristics,pre-hospital emergency care, and prognosis of drowning children during different periods and with different prognosis were analyzed.Results:A total of 53 children were enrolled during the study period，with 24 cases in the first phase（2011-2016）and 29 cases in the second phase（2017-2021）.Boys accounted for 73.6%（39/53）of the cases, the age ranged from 1 month and 24 days to 14 years old，with 1-4 years old being the most common，accounting for 58.5%（31/53）, and the season in which drowning occurred was more common in the summer（39.6%, 21/53）.Six cases (11.3%) had significant neurological sequelae, and the mortality rate was 3.8%（2/53）.There was a decrease in the proportion of drowning with water control in the second stage compared to the first stage（37.5% vs. 13.79%, P=0.046）.Thirty-two（60.4%）children experienced on-site cardiopulmonary resuscitation(CPR) after drowning，with 24 cases in the group with good neurological prognosis and 8 cases in the group with poor neurological prognosis.Children in the poor neurological prognosis group required CPR for a long duration [10.00（1.50, 25.00）min]，had lower body temperature，Glasgow Coma Score，pH and higher blood glucose levels on admission（all P < 0.05）. Conclusion:Drowning is most common in preschool children，common in boys，and drowning prevention measures for young children deserve focused attention. Children found to be in cardiac arrest at the time of drowning have a long duration of drowning and CPR，which predicts a poor neurological prognosis，and timely and effective on-site CPR is the key to reducing the drowning rate.