Possibilities of ultrasound methods in the diagnosis of decompression sickness

Aim of the work: to conduct a comparative analysis of methods of ultrasound examination of the right heart with audio and visual indication of intravascular decompression gas formation in divers after diving.

Materials and methods. An examination of the right heart in divers after 152 man-descents was carried out. Intravascular decompression gas production was assessed by ultrasound using sound location based on the Doppler effect and transthoracic two-dimensional echocardiography.

Results and discussion. Both methods make it possible to determine intravascular decompression gas formation after a diving descent, correlate with the clinical picture of acute decompression sickness and should be used in the medical support of diving descents. At the same time, the method of ultrasound examination based on transthoracic two-dimensional echocardiography turned out to be more sensitive in determining gas bubbles in the right heart as compared to auditory location with the Doppler effect.

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