Diving Hyperb Med
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Editorial Comment
Risk mitigation in divers with persistent (patent) foramen ovale.
In this issue, Anderson and colleagues report follow-up of divers who were found to have a persistent (patent) foramen ovale (PFO) or, in eleven cases, an atrial septal defect (ASD). In most divers diagnosis followed an episode of decompression illness (DCI). The efficacy of closure of the PFO/ASD in preventing future DCI was compared with conservative diving. They reported that in the closure group the occurrence of confirmed DCI decreased significantly compared with pre-closure, but in the conservative group this reduction was not significant.