2-year-old female is in cardiac arrest after drowning in a pool. The lifeguard reports difficulty ventilating. What should you suspect about the lungs?

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Multiple Choice

2-year-old female is in cardiac arrest after drowning in a pool. The lifeguard reports difficulty ventilating. What should you suspect about the lungs?

Drowning with water aspiration floods the lungs, leading to pulmonary edema and fluid filling the alveolar spaces. This fluid buildup makes the lungs stiff and markedly reduces gas exchange, so ventilations become very difficult for the rescuer. Therefore, the lungs would be full of fluid rather than dry. While a pneumothorax or atelectasis can complicate breathing, the immediate and characteristic finding after submersion is fluid in the lungs, which is why that option fits best.

Drowning with water aspiration floods the lungs, leading to pulmonary edema and fluid filling the alveolar spaces. This fluid buildup makes the lungs stiff and markedly reduces gas exchange, so ventilations become very difficult for the rescuer. Therefore, the lungs would be full of fluid rather than dry. While a pneumothorax or atelectasis can complicate breathing, the immediate and characteristic finding after submersion is fluid in the lungs, which is why that option fits best.

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