Unlabelled BACKGROUND: Urban swimming, especially in the Aare River, is popular in Switzerland but carries risks, particularly for those unfamiliar with its currents and hazards. This study describes the epidemiology of river-related emergency department (ED) visits, focusing on injury patterns, patient demographics and presentation characteristics.Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study at the University Hospital of Bern was conducted, analysing river-related ED visits from 2012 to 2024. Data on demographics, injury types, triage levels and outcomes were extracted from electronic medical records.Results A total of 263 river-related ED visits were identified among a total of 541,561 ED visits over the study period (proportional incidence: 0.49 per 1000 ED consultations, 95% CI: 0.43-0.55). Most patients were male (62.7%), aged ≤35 years (65.4%) and Swiss nationals (65.4%). The most frequent injuries were trauma (63.1%), mainly affecting the lower extremities (30.8%) and head/face (16.3%), often due to collisions with submerged objects or bridge jumping. Drowning cases (12.2%) were less common, with seven fatalities (2.7%). Most incidents occurred in the summer between June and August (78.7%), with 37.3% on weekends. Suicide attempts (20.4% vs 3%) and boating-related incidents (11.2% vs 6.7%) were more common in females and jumping-related incidents more frequent in males (22.4% vs 11.2%), p 35 years (p 35 years were significantly more likely to be triaged as life-threatening (22% vs 7.6%; p <0.001), report intentions other than swimming (notably more suicide attempts and accidents; p <0.001), and had higher rates of admission to an ICU or of transfer to a psychiatric clinic (p <0.001).Conclusion River-related ED visits are a recurring seasonal concern, primarily affecting young males. People with non-Swiss nationality and those engaging in high-risk activities are at higher risk. Adopting a multilingual approach could be a key objective of safety campaigns to more effectively reduce risks for non-Swiss swimmers and promote safer swimming practices in urban waters. Prevention efforts should continue to focus on public education, enhanced safety signage and improved emergency preparedness.
Husarek et al. (Thu,) studied this question.