Introduction
Scuba diving injuries not reported to the Diver Alert Network are poorly described in the literature and the current burden of injury is unknown.
Objective
To describe injury patterns observed nationally and influence future efforts aimed at developing countermeasures and training to better address the current burden of injury among scuba divers.
Methods
The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) is a weighted database that provides a national probability sample of participating hospitals that allows for estimation of product-related injuries treated in emergency departments in the United States. The dataset was queried for all cases under product code 1275: “Scuba diving (activity, apparel or equipment)” between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2014. These data then were analyzed to provide a descriptive analysis of the epidemiology of scuba diving–related injuries.
Results
The NEISS representative dataset produced 122 unique cases that resulted in an estimated total national injury burden over this 3-year period of 4151 cases. The most common injury diagnosis (2188, 52.7%) was coded as “other.” Musculoskeletal-related injuries were noted in 1072 (26%) cases, 2439 (58.7%) patients were discharged, and 861 (20.7%) were treated and transferred to another facility. Similar numbers of patients presented to small, medium, and very large facilities.
Conclusions
Scuba diving injuries present to emergency departments of all sizes, and providers at small- and medium-sized facilities need to be prepared to treat these patients. The injuries identified included many musculoskeletal injuries that commonly occur with moving heavy equipment in a wet environment. Future safety initiatives aimed at the diving community should provide additional focus on the safe movement of equipment and increase awareness of the risks posed by the wet environment.