Diving Casualties

Excerpt

According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association 2015 report, there are approximately three million people who engage in scuba diving-related activities in the United States every year, and more than nine million people identify themselves as recreational divers. The incidence of diving-related accidents has increased steadily with the increase in divers. Despite the many improvements in technology and safe-diving techniques, the rate of recreational scuba diving fatalities remains steady at about two fatalities per 100,000 dives. The Divers Alert Network (DAN) identifies more than 1000 diving-related injuries annually, with over 10% of those being fatal. DAN groups these incidents into four major categories under which most diving-related casualties can be grouped. These include preexisting medical conditions of divers, procedural errors, changes in an environment, and problems with equipment. The incidence and epidemiology of diving casualties as well as emergencies specific to diving and the efforts to decrease diving casualties will be discussed in this article.