Recurrent pulmonary barotrauma.

Twenty years of diving incident records were searched to find the 12 cases of recurrent pulmonary barotrauma (PBT) reported. The trend observed was that recurrences tended to be worse than the first incident and more likely to include arterial gas embolism (AGE). It is concluded that the Royal Navy policy of preventing all divers who suffer PBT from further diving is justified, regardless of the cause or mild nature of the injury. The incidence of AGE was low at 1 per 19,800 to 1 per 34,000 dives and was similar to United States Navy incidence. There was no evidence that routine screening by simple spirometry had influenced the PBT rate and, therefore, its usefulness is questioned.