1941: Altitude DCS is treated with hyperbaric oxygen for the first time. 1944: US Navy published hyperbaric treatment tables "Long Air Recompression Table with Oxygen" and "Short Oxygen Recompression Table", both using 100% oxygen below 60 fsw (18 msw)
1945: Field results showed that the 1944 oxygen treatment table was not yet satisfactory, so a series of tests were conducted by staff from the Navy Medical Research Institute and the Navy Experimental Diving Unit using human subjects to verify and modify the treatment tables. Tests were conducted using the 100-foot air-oxygen treatment table and the 100-foot air treatment table, which were found to be satisfactory. Other tables were extended until they produced satisfactory results. The resulting tables were used as the standard treatment for the next 20 years, and these tables and slight modifications were adopted by other navies and industry. Over time, evidence accumulated that the success of these table for severe decompression sickness was not very good. 1957: Robert Workman established a new method for calculation of decompression requirements (M-values). 1959: The "SOS Decompression Meter", a submersible mechanical device that simulated nitrogen uptake and release, was introduced. 1960: FC Golding et al. split the classification of DCS into Type 1 and 2. 1965: Low success rates of the existing US Navy treatment tables led to the development of the oxygen treatment table by Goodman and Workman in 1965, variations of which are still in general use as the definitive treatment for most cases of decompression sickness.
These cases are thought to be under-diagnosed.Inner ear decompression sickness (IEDCS) can be confused with inner ear barotrauma (IEBt), alternobaric vertigo, caloric vertigo and reverse squeeze. A history of difficulty in equalising the ears during the dive makes ear barotrauma more likely, but does not always eliminate the possibility of inner ear DCS, which is usually associated with deep, mixed gas dives with decompression stops. Both conditions may exist concurrently, and it can be difficult to distinguish whether a person has IEDCS, IEBt, or both. Numbness and tingling are associated with spinal DCS, but can also be caused by pressure on nerves (compression neurapraxia). In DCS the numbness or tingling is generally confined to one or a series of dermatomes, while pressure on a nerve tends to produce characteristic areas of numbness associated with the specific nerve on only one side of the body distal to the pressure point. A loss of strength or function is likely to be a medical emergency. A loss of feeling that lasts more than a minute or two indicates a need for immediate medical attention. It is only partial sensory changes, or paraesthesias, where this distinction between trivial and more serious injuries applies.Large areas of numbness with associated weakness or paralysis, especially if a whole limb is affected, are indicative of probable brain involvement and require urgent medical attention. Paraesthesias or weakness involving a dermatome indicate probable spinal cord or spinal nerve root involvement.