What Researchers Did
Researchers conducted an experiment using sheep to investigate if gas found in deceased divers' bodies is due to postmortem changes rather than diving injuries.
What They Found
All sheep (100%) exposed to simulated diving developed significant gas in their blood vessels within 24 hours after death, confirmed by CT scans and necropsy. Control animals, which did not dive, showed no such gas.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
This research helps Canadian medical examiners and pathologists accurately interpret autopsy findings in divers. It suggests that the presence of gas in a deceased diver's body does not automatically mean a fatal gas embolism from a diving injury, as it could be due to natural postmortem processes.
Canadian Relevance
This study was not conducted by Canadian authors or in Canada. However, it addresses aspects related to decompression sickness, which is a Health Canada-recognized indication for hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Study Limitations
A limitation of this study is that it was conducted using sheep, and these findings may not fully apply to human physiology.