Approximately 600-900 divers are treated for decompression illness (DCI) in the United States each year. This category includes decompression sickness (DCS) and arterial gas embolism (AGE).
Nine hundred and fifty-eight cases of DCI were treated in the U.S. during 1993. However, this figure includes neither divers who experienced DCI but did not seek treatment, nor does it include those who sought treatment but may have been treated for other problems.
Furthermore, a wide variety of additional problems such as cardiopulmonary difficulties, near-drowning episodes and musculoskeletal injuries occur each year. It is unknown what proportion of these problems go unreported.
