Citation

Dankner R, Gall N, Freidman G, Arad J. Clin. J. Sport. Med. 2005; 15(4): 253-256.

Affiliation

From the *Unit for Cardiovascular Epidemiology, Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Services Research, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel; †Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; and ‡Department of Pediat

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine, Publisher Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16003040

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:: The growing popularity of diving sport has resulted in more diving accidents. Our objective was to characterize Red Sea divers requiring recompression treatment in Eilat, to recognize 23-year trends of diving accidents, and to facilitate appropriate administrative and treatment tools for diving accident in this area. DESIGN:: Retrospective, uncontrolled study. SETTING:: Recompression unit at a Red Sea medical center. PATIENTS:: Charts of all divers treated at Eilat's recompression chamber from October 1976 to December 1999 were reviewed. INTERVENTIONS:: Recompression treatment. RESULTS:: During this period, annual crude numbers increased 5-fold, and a total of 453 patients were treated. Of them, 68% were Israelis and 32% tourists; 76% were males and 23% females; and 21.6% were diving buddies of injured divers (omitted decompression). The mean diving depth causing the accident was 30.2 +/- 13.1 m, and >50% of accidents occurred between 11 and 30 m. Over 42% suffered from decompression sickness (DCS) type 2, 26% from DCS type 1, and 7% from barotraumas. Women, unlike men, presented predominantly DCS type 2 (54% vs. 39%; P = 0.01) and sustained DCS at shallower waters (25.2 +/- 9.1 m) than men (31.8 +/- 13.8 m; P < 0.0001). Primarily, treatment followed recompression in alternating cycles of oxygen and air as stipulated in US Navy Tables 5 (18.1%) and 6 (37.5%). The 48-hour case fatality rate was 0.09%. CONCLUSIONS:: This large survey of open sea diving accidents accentuated the need for a national registry of diving accidents and a national database of diving activities.