Patent foramen ovale and decompression sickness in divers.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
30 patients with a history of decompression sickness were examined for the presence of patent foramen ovale by bubble contrast, two-dimensional echocardiography and colour flow doppler imaging. With bubble contrast, 11 (37%) of the patients had right-to-left shunting through a patent foramen ovale during spontaneous breathing. 61% of a subset of 18 patients with serious signs and symptoms had shunting. This number was significantly higher than the 5% prevalence seen with the same diagnostic technique in 176 healthy volunteers. The presence of patent foramen ovale seems to be a risk factor for the development of decompression sickness in divers.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Moon, RE; Camporesi, EM; Kisslo, JA
Published Date
- March 11, 1989
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 1 / 8637
Start / End Page
- 513 - 514
PubMed ID
- 2564057
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0140-6736
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1016/s0140-6736(89)90064-0
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- England