[Emergency treatment in decompression accidents in shipyards]

The Comex company has underwater workplaces scattered over the whole world, which are therefore very often far away from a medical center equipped for the treatment of decompression sickness. However, the subsequent evolution of such an event depends mainly on how fast the first aid is given to the patient. Therefore, the scientific and medical departments of our company developed a medical handbook to be used by chiefs of working platforms. The text which has to be easily understandable, mentions: a cursory description of the clinical signs of the different decompression accidents the measures which have to be taken in each case, depending on: the moment of the emergency: after or during decompression, the presence of an insufficient decompression, or a "blow-up". The handbook contains several recompression tables, first aid treatment recommendations and drugs. It has to be stressed that these procedures are only emergency steps. They should be performed before the patient can be transferred to a medical center with expertise in the treatment of decompression accidents.