Published in Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine
Introduction This study aimed to determine the lowest possible atmospheric pressure in the 111−152 kPa (1.1−1.5 atmospheres absolute [atm abs]) range that would require the patients to equalise their ears, allowing an effective sham for a 203 kPa (2.0 atm abs) hyperbaric exposure. Methods We performed a randomised controlled study on 60 volunteers ...
Published in Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine
Introduction The Eustachian tube (ET) is essential for fast and direct pressure equalisation between middle ear and ambient pressure. It is not yet known to what extent Eustachian tube function in healthy adults changes in a weekly periodicity due to internal and external factors. This question is particularly interesting with regard to scuba diver...
Published in Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine
Introduction Recreational freedivers typically perform repeated dives to moderate depths with short recovery intervals. According to freediving standards, these recovery intervals should be twice the dive duration; however, this has yet to be supported by scientific evidence. Methods Six recreational freedivers performed three freedives to 11 metre...
Published in Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine
Introduction Minors have been scuba diving for decades, and while the initial concerns about potential long-term complications related to bone development appear to be unfounded, the incidence of scuba diving injuries among them has been poorly studied. Methods We reviewed 10,159 cases recorded in the DAN Medical Services call center database from ...
Published in Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine
Introduction Breath-hold (BH) diving has known risks, for example drowning, pulmonary oedema of immersion and barotrauma. There is also the risk of decompression illness (DCI) from decompression sickness (DCS) and/or arterial gas embolism (AGE). The first report on DCS in repetitive freediving was published in 1958 and from then there have been mul...
Published in Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine
Introduction Tamai zone 1 replantation poses a challenge due to the very small size of the vascular structures; often there is no vein for anastomosis. Replantation may have to be done with only an arterial anastomosis. In our study, we aimed to evaluate the success of replantation by combining external bleeding and hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBO...
Published in Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine
Introduction Critically ill patients require continuation of their care when receiving hyperbaric oxygen treatment. This care may be facilitated via portable electrically powered devices such as intravenous (IV) infusion pumps and syringe drivers, which may create risks in the absence of a comprehensive safety evaluation. We reviewed published safe...
Published in Diving and hyperbaric medicine
Intravascular bubble load after decompression can be detected and scored using ultrasound techniques that measure venous gas emboli (VGE). The aim of this study was to analyse the agreement between ultrasonic bubble grades from a handheld self-positioning product, the O'Dive™, and cardiac 2D ultrasound after decompression. VGE were graded with both...
Published in Diving and hyperbaric medicine
Electrical injuries are a rarely reported complication of scuba diving. A 33-year-old woman wore a 12-volt heated shirt designed for motorcycling, powered by a canister light battery, while scuba diving. A leak in her drysuit allowed water to make contact with an electrified connector from the heated shirt, and she experienced painful electrical sh...
Published in Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine
Introduction Faults or errors during use of closed-circuit rebreathers (CCRs) can cause hypoxia. Military aviators face a similar risk of hypoxia and undergo awareness training to determine their ‘hypoxia signature’, a personalised, reproducible set of symptoms. We aimed to establish a hypoxia signature among divers, and to investigate their abilit...
