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. 2023 Dec 20;53(4):299–305. doi: 10.28920/dhm53.4.299-305

Table 2. Venous gas emboli (VGE) grades (Eftedal-Brubakk scale) for SWEN-21 from the validation dive series ValTKLHN2021; # decompression with air (see Appendix 3 (15.4KB, pdf) for respective decompression schedules); ¤ decompression with oxygen (See Appendix 3 (15.4KB, pdf) for respective decompression schedules); a numbers of divers with cutaneous manifestation of diving not to be classified as decompression sickness (DCS), e.g., redness and pruritus; b diver who received prophylactic NBO because of arterial bubbles; HBO – hyperbaric oxygen treatment; IQR – interquartile range; min – bottom time minutes; msw – metres of seawater; NBO – normobaric oxygen treatment .

Dive profile msw / min n dives Median (IQR) VGE grade rest / flexing n DCS DCS-type (peak VGE grade of individual DCS cases) n cutaneous stressa Treatment
Direct ascent profiles
All direct ascent profiles 100 3 (1–3) / 3 (2–4) 2 2musculoskeletal 1 2HBO 1NBO
18 / 59 20 3 (2–3) / 3 (3–3.5) 2 Shoulder pain (3) Hip pain (4) 2HBO
24 / 33 20 3 (1–3) / 3 (2–4)
33 / 17 24 33 / 17 1 1NBO
39 / 12 20 3 (1.5–3) / 3 (1.5–4)
45 / 8 16 2 (1–3) / 3 (2–3)
Decompression profiles
All decompression profiles 54 3 (2–4) / 3 (3–4) 1 1neurological 8 1HBO 2NBO
39 / 20# 22 3 (2.5–4) / 3.5 (3–4) 1 1 NBO
51 / 10# 16 2.5 (1.5–3) / 3 (2–4) 1 Sensory loss leg and torso (4) 1HBO
57 / 15# 8 4 (3.5–4) / 4 (4–4) 5 1NBO
57 / 15¤ 8 3 (1.5–3.5) / 3 (2–4) 2
All profiles combined
All profiles 154 3 (2–3) / 3 (3–4) 3 1neurological, 2musculoskeletal 9 3HBO 3NBO