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30 patients with a history of decompression sickness were examined for the presence of patent foramen ovale by bubble contrast,two-dimensional echocardiography and colour flow doppler imaging.With bubble contrast,11 (37%)of the patients had right-to-left shunting through a patent foramen ovale during spontaneous breathing.61%of a subset of 18 patients with serious signs and symptoms had shunting.This number was significantly higher than the 5%prevalence seen with the same diagnostic technique in 176 healthy volunteers.The presence of patent foramen ovale seems to be a risk factor for the development of decompression sickness in divers. |
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