Azhar Mubarik, Shahzad Azam, Shoaib Naiyar Hashmi.
Pathology of drowning - An autopsy study.
Pak J Pathol Jan ;13(2):27-30.

An autopsy study of 18 cases of drowning is presented. All the cases belonged to Armed Forces and drowned due to accidents (61%) or during training exercise (39%). None of drowning was homicidal or suicidal. The ages varied from 18 to 46 years, median age being 23 years. All were males. In 11 cases the drowning was in fresh water while rest drowned in seawater. In all the cases except two the bodies was recovered from water within few minutes to 1 hour, while in the 2 cases the dead bodies were recovered after 1 week. The external examination revealed presence of froth in the nostrils. Internal examination revealed froth in the respiratory passages and pulmonary edema, which was more marked in seawater drowning. The right heart was dilated suggesting acute strain. Histopathological examination revealed pulmonary edema in all cases with vegetable matter in the lungs in two cases. No other significant finding was seen otherwise. This study shows that accidental drowning is more common than expected, especially during training exercises. Presence of froth in the respiratory passages is a reliable sign of drowning and helps in differentiating drowning from post mortem immersion in water.

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