Bubbletrubble
Contributor
This is an excellent question.
If someone is really listening to a lecture on DCS pathophysiology/treatment and understands the basics of bubble growth, this kind of question should pop into his head.
To round out the above discussion related to post-dive oxygen administration...
I think Kern's comments can be a little misleading, although he did point out the predominant factors in bubble growth dynamics. It's more complicated than that. FWIW, there have been animal studies which demonstrate measurable bubble growth in tissue during the initial stages of post-dive oxygen administration. A few different hypotheses have been offered to explain this phenomenon. TSandM alluded to one of them (O2 diffusion into a bubble which exceeds inert gas diffusion out of the bubble). As TSandM mentioned, researchers still know embarrassing little about DCS pathophysiology.
The OP asked why O2 administration at the surface does not worsen the diver's DCS symptoms. In searching for an answer, it's very easy to get caught up in the math/physics underlying bubble growth dynamics and various other biological processes (inflammation cascades, ischemia/hypoxemia, etc.). Unfortunately, the average diver lacks the scientific training to make sense of it all. One thing to bear in mind is that the clinical benefits of breathing 100% O2 at the surface may not be solely due to the decreased amount of inert gas (nitrogen) inhaled. In certain contexts, O2 is known to have direct cardiovascular effects -- some potentially good, some potentially bad. Reading up on the vasoactive effects of oxygen, you'll learn that hyperoxia can give rise to reactive oxygen species which decrease bioavailability of nitric oxide and result in vasoconstriction (good or bad depending on the location/type of blood vessels involved). O2 administration can also potentially increase the oxygen dissolved in blood plasma. It's a relatively tiny effect compared to the oxygen-carrying capacity of hemoglobin in the blood, but given the possibility of the diver being hypoxic/ischemic, every little bit might help the overall clinical picture.![IDK :idk: :idk:](/community/styles/scubaboard/smilies/idontknow.png)
If talk of M-values and inflammatory signal transduction makes your head spin, then focus on the real reason we administer oxygen as first aid treatment for DCS -- it just works. There's at least one study (Longphre et al., UHM. 2007, 34:1) out there, investigating a large number of DCS cases, that demonstrates a better outcome for people who received normobaric O2 administration following the dive. From a treatment perspective, this is all that really matters. Discussion of M-values and possible inflammatory cascades is purely theoretical and/or speculative. Empirical evidence trumps any theoretical or mathematical discussion.
I realize that this probably doesn't sound like a satisfying explanation. It's not meant to be.
It seems like the more you learn about something, the more you realize you don't know.![Big Grin :D :D](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
FWIW, I really hate it when a teacher/instructor/professor/scientist attempts to dismiss a student/audience member with a question by giving a hand-waving/theoretical answer (unless that type of answer was specifically sought by the person posing the question). My BS detector goes into full-alert mode at that point. This happens all the time in scientific post-talk Q&A sessions. I'm not always sure if it's due to the scientist lacking social skills, purposefully overstating the results of the work, or just trying to BS his/her way out of the question. (Just to clarify, I don't think any participant in this thread has done that.)
If someone is really listening to a lecture on DCS pathophysiology/treatment and understands the basics of bubble growth, this kind of question should pop into his head.
To round out the above discussion related to post-dive oxygen administration...
I think Kern's comments can be a little misleading, although he did point out the predominant factors in bubble growth dynamics. It's more complicated than that. FWIW, there have been animal studies which demonstrate measurable bubble growth in tissue during the initial stages of post-dive oxygen administration. A few different hypotheses have been offered to explain this phenomenon. TSandM alluded to one of them (O2 diffusion into a bubble which exceeds inert gas diffusion out of the bubble). As TSandM mentioned, researchers still know embarrassing little about DCS pathophysiology.
The OP asked why O2 administration at the surface does not worsen the diver's DCS symptoms. In searching for an answer, it's very easy to get caught up in the math/physics underlying bubble growth dynamics and various other biological processes (inflammation cascades, ischemia/hypoxemia, etc.). Unfortunately, the average diver lacks the scientific training to make sense of it all. One thing to bear in mind is that the clinical benefits of breathing 100% O2 at the surface may not be solely due to the decreased amount of inert gas (nitrogen) inhaled. In certain contexts, O2 is known to have direct cardiovascular effects -- some potentially good, some potentially bad. Reading up on the vasoactive effects of oxygen, you'll learn that hyperoxia can give rise to reactive oxygen species which decrease bioavailability of nitric oxide and result in vasoconstriction (good or bad depending on the location/type of blood vessels involved). O2 administration can also potentially increase the oxygen dissolved in blood plasma. It's a relatively tiny effect compared to the oxygen-carrying capacity of hemoglobin in the blood, but given the possibility of the diver being hypoxic/ischemic, every little bit might help the overall clinical picture.
![IDK :idk: :idk:](/community/styles/scubaboard/smilies/idontknow.png)
If talk of M-values and inflammatory signal transduction makes your head spin, then focus on the real reason we administer oxygen as first aid treatment for DCS -- it just works. There's at least one study (Longphre et al., UHM. 2007, 34:1) out there, investigating a large number of DCS cases, that demonstrates a better outcome for people who received normobaric O2 administration following the dive. From a treatment perspective, this is all that really matters. Discussion of M-values and possible inflammatory cascades is purely theoretical and/or speculative. Empirical evidence trumps any theoretical or mathematical discussion.
I realize that this probably doesn't sound like a satisfying explanation. It's not meant to be.
It seems like the more you learn about something, the more you realize you don't know.
FWIW, I really hate it when a teacher/instructor/professor/scientist attempts to dismiss a student/audience member with a question by giving a hand-waving/theoretical answer (unless that type of answer was specifically sought by the person posing the question). My BS detector goes into full-alert mode at that point. This happens all the time in scientific post-talk Q&A sessions. I'm not always sure if it's due to the scientist lacking social skills, purposefully overstating the results of the work, or just trying to BS his/her way out of the question. (Just to clarify, I don't think any participant in this thread has done that.)
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