Incidence Trends and Predictors of In-Hospital Mortality in Drowning in Children and Adolescents in the United States: A National Inpatient Database Analysis

We sought to examine incidence and mortality trends of drowning-related hospitalizations in children aged <20 years and to study the presence of risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality. Retrospective analysis of the 2003-2016 Health Care Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample and Kids’ Inpatient Database was performed. The estimated annual incidence rate of drowning hospitalizations declined 31.5% from 2.73 to 1.87 per 100 000 population. Most drowning-related hospitalizations were seen in <5-year-old children (66.4%) and in males (65.3%), Caucasians (41.7%), and public insurance (46%). In-hospital mortality declined 46% from an estimated 290 deaths in 2003 to 156 deaths in 2016. On multivariate analysis, age <5 years, Caucasian ethnicity, uninsured status, pool/bathtub or undetermined location, arrhythmia (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.3, P = .001), acute kidney injury (aOR = 3.4, P < .001), cerebral edema (aOR = 2.8, P < .001), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (aOR = 12.1, P < .001), and invasive mechanical ventilation (aOR = 28.4, P < .001) were found to be independent predictors of mortality.