Variations of the Inert Gas Content of the Urine under Increased Barometric Pressure and Their Prognostic Value in the Occurrence of Compressed Air Illness

摘要

A method has been suggested by Behnke and Yarbrough whereby the quantitative elimination of inert gas from the body of a diver exposed to increased barometric pressures could be estimated by means of gasometric analyses of urine secreted during the second post-dive hour. Following exposures of their divers to a helium-oxygen atmosphere under pressure and air during and following decompression, the excess inert gas values of urine secreted during the second post-dive hour were regarded as of great importance since high values were associated with the development of 'bends' while normal values (below 0.04 volumes per cent) were obtained on divers who remained free of symptoms.