Hello,
The guidelines for field management of decompression illness recently published in Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine are now available on the journal's website. The usual one year embargo on newly published papers has been lifted by the excoms of SPUMS and EUBS (thanks!).
The paper is reasonably self explanatory.
Much of it is devoted to the very controversial issue of acceptable practice around the remote triage of decompression illness patients by diving physicians. On the face of it this might not seem relevant to divers themselves. In fact, for technical divers on expeditions in remote locations this is extremely relevant, because it could have a profound influence on whether or not a diver with possible mild DCI has to be evacuated for further assessment or not.
The other topical discussion is on in-water recompression. This is the first time that an expert group of diving physicians convened for the purpose of defining best practice has endorsed in water recompression. The support is qualified, but it is real. This contrasts with ill informed comments that recently appeared about in-water recompression in another thread on this forum. The topic of in-water recompression will be covered in more detail in a paper that will be released in the June edition of DHM, but the present paper outlines the committee's basic thoughts.
Simon M
The guidelines for field management of decompression illness recently published in Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine are now available on the journal's website. The usual one year embargo on newly published papers has been lifted by the excoms of SPUMS and EUBS (thanks!).
The paper is reasonably self explanatory.
Much of it is devoted to the very controversial issue of acceptable practice around the remote triage of decompression illness patients by diving physicians. On the face of it this might not seem relevant to divers themselves. In fact, for technical divers on expeditions in remote locations this is extremely relevant, because it could have a profound influence on whether or not a diver with possible mild DCI has to be evacuated for further assessment or not.
The other topical discussion is on in-water recompression. This is the first time that an expert group of diving physicians convened for the purpose of defining best practice has endorsed in water recompression. The support is qualified, but it is real. This contrasts with ill informed comments that recently appeared about in-water recompression in another thread on this forum. The topic of in-water recompression will be covered in more detail in a paper that will be released in the June edition of DHM, but the present paper outlines the committee's basic thoughts.
Simon M