Characterizing Cold Water Drownings in the Great Lakes
Research Mentor Name
Dr. Anthony Lagina
Research Mentor Email Address
alagina@wayne.edu
Institution / Department
Wayne State University School of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine
Document Type
Research Abstract
Research Type
clinicalresearch
Abstract
Since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, Great Lakes drownings have increased. The Great Lakes are a unique and understudied environment due to being cold, fresh water, and resuscitation protocols and guidelines being derived from warm, primarily salt water environments. We analyzed open sources materials to find records of Great Lakes drownings from 2021-2023 and analyze the data looking for trends in cold and warm water drownings.
We found 80.0-85.0% of the included drowning victims were male and had an average age of 38.0-39.0 years old. 40.0%-57.7% of Great Lakes drowning deaths were in cold water; of those, Lake Michigan had the highest number of cold water drownings each year, while Lake Huron and Lake Superior had the least.
The drowning victims in this cohort were predominantly adult men. Additionally, almost 50% of Great Lakes drownings were cold water drownings. These results do not suggest cold water is protective, although drowning and near drowning survival rates are needed to definitively determine whether there is a significant difference. This study provided strong reasoning and foundation for further studies in cold water resuscitation. This is an unmet need, especially within Great Lakes states, and could help improve mortality of cold water drownings.
Disciplines
Emergency Medicine | Medicine and Health Sciences
Recommended Citation
Helfrich, Elizabeth T. and Lagina, Anthony, "Characterizing Cold Water Drownings in the Great Lakes" (2024). Medical Student Research Symposium. 331.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/som_srs/331