Delayed treatment of dysbarism: a retrospective review of 50 cases

Fifty cases of decompression sickness are reviewed in which recompression treatment was delayed for 12 hours or longer after the onset of dysbaric symptoms. Twenty-four patients (48%) had pain only. The other 26 patients (52%) had more serious decompression sickness; two patients may have had air embolisms. Ninety percent of the patients recovered either completely (66%) or substantially (24%) with recompression and associated treatment, although standard recompression protocols had to be lengthened in many of the cases.