Saturday, July 10, 1999

Heimlich or CPR? Drownings revive debate

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BY EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Dr. Henry Heimlich directs lifeguard Serena Levy as she demonstrates the Heimlich maneuver. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        Twenty-four drownings or near-drownings this year involving children in the Cincinnati area have revived a debate over which method — the Heimlich maneuver or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) — should be used first to save victims.

        Friday, Dr. Henry Heimlich said the maneuver that bears his name should be used as the first option to clear water from lungs of near-drowning victims.

        “We can't stand by and watch these children die,” Dr. Heimlich said during a news conference at Coney Island's Sunlite Pool. “Drowning victims die because they have water in their lungs.”

        In a separate news conference, physicians at Children's Hospital Medical Center disagreed, saying no proof supports Dr. Heimlich's position. Instead, the doctors sided with the American Heart Association and American Red Cross — that CPR should first be used to open the airway and force air into the lungs.

        “In fact, a significant number of drownings are "dry.' There is no water present” in the lungs, said Dr. Mike Farrell, chief of staff.

        Of the 24 patients admitted to Children's for submersion injuries or drownings this year, four have died. Since July 1, Children's has treated eight near-drowning victims. That compares to 17 admissions for all of 1998, three of whom died.

        During the five years from from 1993 to 1998, the hospital averaged between 19 and 20 such admissions annually, with a yearly average of four deaths from drowning.

        Dr. Heimlich said the problem with using CPR to save near-drowning victims is that 250 million people nationwide have “never studied CPR and couldn't do it right or safely.”

        “We can stop these deaths,” said Dr. Heimlich, flanked by four lifeguards who demonstrated the Heimlich method, which employs an abdominal “hug” to clear airways.

        But Dr. Farrell and Dr. Robert Shapiro, a physician in the emergency medicine division at Children's, said deciding which method to use first wouldn't be important if parents would supervise their children. “We need to talk about prevention of drownings,” Dr. Farrell said. “There's too many kids unsupervised, unable to handle themselves around bodies of water ... and that's what we need to focus on — not who does what first.”

       

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