Scuba-related injuries presenting to United States emergency departments: paediatric and adult patterns.

INTRODUCTION

Scuba diving is a popular sport that carries risks unique to the underwater environment. Paediatric emergency department presentations for scuba diving injuries are incompletely characterised, particularly in comparison with adults.

METHODS

We retrospectively analysed scuba-related injuries recorded in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) from 2005-2024. We estimated national paediatric emergency department presentations using NEISS weights and compared injury categories and hospitalisation rates between paediatric and adult patients.

RESULTS

We identified 68 paediatric cases, corresponding to an estimated 122 paediatric scuba-related emergency department presentations annually. Trauma was the most common injury category (41.2%), followed by otitis (17.6%) and ear, sinus, ocular, or dental barotrauma (16.2%). Hospitalisation was most common among patients with possible decompression sickness or arterial gas embolism (DCS/AGE) (42.9%) and drowning/aspiration (25.0%). Compared with adults, paediatric patients were less often hospitalised (10.3% vs 21.4%, P = 0.038), more likely to present with traumatic injuries (41.2% vs 26.1%, P = 0.010), and less likely to present with possible DCS/AGE (10.3% vs 25.0%, P = 0.006).

CONCLUSIONS

Among patients presenting to United States emergency departments with scuba-related injuries, paediatric patients most commonly had trauma, otitis, or ear, sinus, ocular, or dental barotrauma. Paediatric divers were also less likely than adults to experience DCS/AGE injuries and were less likely than adults to require hospitalisation. Our data describes emergency department presentation patterns rather than overall injury risk among paediatric scuba divers.