Charles Paul Azzopardi1,2,3, Joseph Caruana4,5, Lyubisa Matity2, Stephen Muscat2, W A Jack Meintjes3. 1. Corresponding author: Dr Charles Paul Azzopardi, Hyperbaric Unit, Mater Dei Hospital, Triq id-Donaturi tad-Demm, Tal-Qroqq, Msida, Malta, charles.a.azzopardi@gov.mt. 2. Hyperbaric Unit, Mater Dei Hospital, Malta. 3. Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. 4. Department of Physics, University of Malta, Malta. 5. Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy, University of Malta, Malta.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Scuba diving is a big part of the tourism sector in Malta, and all the cases of decompression illness (DCI)are treated within the single hyperbaric referral centre in the country. METHODS: This retrospective analysis reviews all the medical records of divers with DCI in Malta within the 30-year period between 1987 to 2017 who required recompression therapy with hyperbaric oxygen. RESULTS: There were 437 discrete cases of DCI managed with recompression therapy. Amongst DCI subtypes, the prevalence of musculo-skeletal DCI is decreasing, whereas that of vestibulo-cochlear DCI is increasing. CONCLUSION: The increasing prevalence of vestibulo-cochlear DCI may be due to a change in diving practices in Malta. Copyright: This article is the copyright of the authors who grant Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine a non-exclusive licence to publish the article in electronic and other forms.
INTRODUCTION: Scuba diving is a big part of the tourism sector in Malta, and all the cases of decompression illness (DCI)are treated within the single hyperbaric referral centre in the country. METHODS: This retrospective analysis reviews all the medical records of divers with DCI in Malta within the 30-year period between 1987 to 2017 who required recompression therapy with hyperbaric oxygen. RESULTS: There were 437 discrete cases of DCI managed with recompression therapy. Amongst DCI subtypes, the prevalence of musculo-skeletal DCI is decreasing, whereas that of vestibulo-cochlear DCI is increasing. CONCLUSION: The increasing prevalence of vestibulo-cochlear DCI may be due to a change in diving practices in Malta. Copyright: This article is the copyright of the authors who grant Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine a non-exclusive licence to publish the article in electronic and other forms.
Authors: Oskari H Lindfors; Anne K Räisänen-Sokolowski; Timo P Hirvonen; Saku T Sinkkonen Journal: Diving Hyperb Med Date: 2021-12-20 Impact factor: 0.887