What Researchers Did
Researchers reviewed the records of divers treated with hyperbaric oxygen for decompression illness at a hospital in Geneva, Switzerland, between 2010 and 2016.
What They Found
This retrospective study analyzed 92 divers treated for decompression illness, of whom 64 had neurological decompression illness and 28 had mild decompression illness. Most patients with mild decompression illness had musculoskeletal symptoms (79%), while most with neurological decompression illness had spinal symptoms (55%) or vestibular symptoms (36%). Arterial gas embolism was diagnosed in 30% of cases, and 25% of patients with neurological decompression illness still had lasting deficits after treatment. No adverse effects of the hyperbaric oxygen treatment were observed. Older age was linked to a worse outcome in a simple analysis, but that link did not hold once other factors were accounted for. In spinal cases, a higher Boussuges score was linked to lasting deficits: a score above 7 identified 90% of patients who went on to have an unfavourable outcome, though only 53% of patients with that score actually had an unfavourable outcome.
Canadian Relevance
No direct Canadian connection identified.
Study Limitations
This was a retrospective review at a single treatment centre, and only 92 of the 135 originally treated patients were included in the final analysis.