DAN Medical Research
Injury Database : Project Overview

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DAN receives notification that an average of 1,000 injured divers are treated annually, from its worldwide network of referral hyperbaric chambers. Out of 170 chambers in the region, 80 chambers participate regularly in this project. DAN provides the active chambers with Diving Injury Reporting Forms (DIRFs), and asks that a DIRF be completed for each diver treated in the chamber for a diving related injury, and returned to DAN for analysis. The individual patient and a representative from the treating facility complete the DIRF.

An average of 600 forms are collected each year, and an average of 500 cases meet the inclusion criteria for the annual report.

DAN Medical Department staff members make follow-up calls to divers who meet the inclusion criteria and who did not have total resolution of signs and symptoms upon completion of all recompression therapy. These calls are made at three-month, six-month, nine-month, and 12-month intervals, or until they report full resolution. Completed cases are included in DAN's annual Report on Decompression Illness, Diving Fatalities and Project Dive Exploration, which is available online to DAN Members at no cost or may be purchased.

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