Study Reveals Effects of Non-Fatal Drowning-Induced Brain Injury in Children

Ishaque, M., Manning, J. H., Woolsey, M. D., Franklin, C. G., Tullis, E. W., Beckmann, C. F. and Fox, P. T. (2017), Functional integrity in children with anoxic brain injury from drowning. Hum. Brain Mapp.. doi:10.1002/hbm.23745

A new study indicates that children who develop brain injury due to non-fatal drowning often experience severe motor deficits but maintain relatively intact perceptual and cognitive capabilities.

The findings were made using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess brain integrity in 11 children with quadriplegia due to drowning-induced brain injury. All were comatose immediately after the injury and gradually regained consciousness, but with varying ability to communicate their cognitive state.