Consensus guidelines for the use of ultrasound for diving research.

The International Meeting on Ultrasound for Diving Research produced expert consensus recommendations for ultrasound detection of vascular gas bubbles and the analysis, interpretation and reporting of such data. Recommendations for standardization of techniques to allow comparison between studies included bubble monitoring site selection, frequency and duration of monitoring, and use of the Spencer, Kisman-Masurel or Eftedal-Brubakk scales. Recommendations for reporting of results included description of subject posture and provocation manoeuvres during monitoring, reporting of untransformed data and the appropriate use of statistics. These guidelines are available from www.dhmjournal.com.