In-water Recompression as an emergency field treatment of decompression illness.

Abstract

In-water recompression (IWR) is defined as the practice of treating divers suffering from decompression illness (DCI) by recompression underwater after the onset of DCI symptoms. The practice of IWR has been strongly discouraged by many authors, recompression chamber operators and diving physicians. Much of the opposition to IWR is founded in the theoretical risks associated with placing a person suffering from DCI into the uncontrolled underwater environment. Evidence from available reports of attempted IWR indicates an overwhelming majority of cases in which the condition of DCI victims improved after attempted IWR. At least three formal methods of IWR have been published. All of them prescribe breathing 100% oxygen for prolonged periods of time at a depth of 9 m (30 ft), supplied using a full face mask. Many factors must be considered when determining whether IWR should be implemented in response to the onset of DCI. The efficacy of IWR and the ideal methodology employed cannot be fully determined without more careful analysis of case histories. (A version of this paper was originally published in aquaCorps 1995; Number 11, UNDERGROUND XPLORERS:35-46 without references.)