EMT Practice Test

Answer: C - There is both wet drowning and dry drowning. Wet drowning occurs when a person is submerged in water and attempt to breath and aspirates water. Dry drowning is when the person has a laryngospasm without aspiration. The most important contributory factors to morbidity and mortality from near drowning are hypoxemia and a decrease in oxygen delivery to vital tissue. The pathophysiology of near drowning is intimately related to the multi-organ effects of hypoxemia.