Drowning/Near drowning: how is near drowning defined?

• A. Near drowning is when the diver is successfully resuscitated following a drowning episode.
• B. Drowning and near drowning are the same.
• C. Near drowning means the diver was never submerged.
• D. Drowning means the diver is rescued without resuscitation.

Answer: (A)

Near-drowning is defined by survival after a submersion event with successful resuscitation. This means the person was submerged, experienced a drowning episode, and was revived and survived. That’s why describing near-drowning as someone being successfully resuscitated following a drowning episode is the best fit. The other ideas don’t match because near-drowning requires submersion and subsequent rescue with recovery, whereas simply being rescued without resuscitation, or never being submerged, or treating drowning and near-drowning as the same, don’t reflect the outcome-based distinction this term uses.