Diving up to 60 m depth followed by decompression has no effect on pro-enzyme and total thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor antigen concentration.

The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of two different hyperbaric exposures followed by decompression on thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) concentration and activity. The hyperbaric conditions correspond to diving to 30 and 60 m water depth. Thirty-four male divers were tested in decompression habitat LSH-200, with air as a breathing medium. The pro-enzyme and total TAFI antigen concentration were measured. We did not observed significant changes of either pro-enzyme or total TAFI antigen concentration after both series of exposures followed by decompression. The results may suggest that TAFI plays only a marginal role, if any, in the regulation of induced fibrinolysis in divers, which may contribute to bleeding episodes in a course of decompression sickness.

Validation of diving decompression tables.

Research on the validation of decompression tables is one of the common subject areas of the co-operation undertaken between the Defence and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine, Toronto, Canada, and The Naval Academy of Gdynia, Poland. For several years now, a systematic survey of diving technologies has been conducted among the target projects financed by the Polish State Committee for Scientific Research and the Polish Navy. Among the most important problems discussed have been various aspects of decompression safety. The present paper shows a study to standardise and unify validation procedures for decompression in the Polish Navy.

The implementation of factor analysis for the evaluation of selected blood parameter changes induced by hyperbaric exposure.

This paper discusses the application of factor analysis when used to compare selected blood parameter (a three-parameter smear, hematocrit, C3c, C4, IgG, IgA, IgM, CRP, fibrinogen and the level of factor XII) properties, just before, and after exposure to pressure changes, and 24-hours after the completion of decompression. To-date the most popular method of statistical analysis was based only on investigation of the significance of the separated individual parameters. This factor analysis that has not been applied previously in the analysis of such problems, enabled the neutral hierarchic evaluation of the significant parameter changes within their chosen range, and mutual relationships. It seems that the application of this method is purposeful and it can be an objective tool for evaluating the significance of changes in blood constituency induced by pressure.