Cognitive performance in transient global hypoxic brain injury due to moderate drowning

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Drowning is a serious and frequently neglected public health threat. Primary respiratory impairment after submersion often leads to brain dysfunction. Depending on the period of global hypoxia (respiratory failure), clinical aspects of neurological dysfunction are evident on the first evaluation after the water rescue. Nowadays, many neuropsychological assessments after drowning are inconclusive, with some studies reporting only minor neurological or cognitive impairments. The aim of this study is to identify measures in neuropsychological tests that most contribute to classify volunteers as moderate drowning subjects or healthy controls. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first neuropsychological prospective case-control study of moderate drowning in a country with large coastal cities. Method: Fifteen moderate drowning patients (DP), who met the inclusion criteria, were compared with 18 healthy controls (HC). All subjects were assessed on memory, learning, visual spati...