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Henry J. Heimlich, MD
Xavier University The Heimlich Institute Foundation Inc Cincinnati

JAMA. 1986;256(21):2960.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

The Heimlich maneuver is now taught by the American Red Cross and American Heart Association as a method for saving near-drowning victims.¹

A partial review of near-drowning literature by Dr Ornato² includes a section, "The Need to Clear the Airway of Water With a Heimlich Maneuver." By selectively excluding data from references, it minimizes the pathophysiological significance of aspirated water and the effectiveness of the Heimlich maneuver in expelling that water from the airway and lungs.³

Initially, the article acknowledges "terminal gasping with flooding of the lungs." Its table shows that 85% of near-drowning victims weighing 68 kg (150 lb) aspirate as much as 1.5 L of freshwater (<22 mL/kg), and 15% even more; in saltwater, 59% aspirate up to 750 mL (<11 mL/kg), 25% aspirate 750 to 1500 mL, and 16% aspirate more. These volumes are up to ten times greater than the . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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