Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31177513›Full record

ArticleDiving and hyperbaric medicine2019

The effectiveness of risk mitigation interventions in divers with persistent (patent) foramen ovale.

George Anderson, Douglas Ebersole, Derek Covington, Petar J Denoble

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Diving and hyperbaric medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.1field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Guideline
  2. Review
  3. Updates on Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) Closure.Current cardiology reports · 2024
    Review
  4. Review
  5. Decompression illness: a comprehensive overview.Diving and hyperbaric medicine · 2024
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Visualization and Bibliometric Analysis of Research Trends on Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Article
  8. Cardiovascular considerations for scuba divers.Heart (British Cardiac Society) · 2022
    Review
  9. European position paper on the management of patients with patent foramen ovale. Part II - Decompression sickness, migraine, arterial deoxygenation syndromes and select high-risk clinical conditions.EuroIntervention : journal of EuroPCR in collaboration with the Working Group on Interventional Cardiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2021
    Article
  10. Patent Foramen Ovale-A Not So Innocuous Septal Atrial Defect in Adults.Journal of cardiovascular development and disease · 2021
    Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. SCAI Guidelines for the Management of Patent Foramen Ovale.Journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions
    Article
  18. SCAI Technical Review on Management of Patent Foramen Ovale.Journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

George AndersonDivers Alert Network, Durham NC, USA.
Douglas EbersoleWatson Clinic, Lakeland FL, USA.
Derek CovingtonDepartment of Anesthesiology, University of Florida, Gainesville FL, USA.
Petar J DenobleDivers Alert Network, Durham NC, USA.
University of Florida · USNIHR Research Delivery Network · GBWatson Clinic · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionPersistent (patent) foramen ovale (PFO) is a recognized risk for decompression sickness (DCS) in divers, which may be mitigated by conservative diving or by PFO closure. Our study aimed to compare the effectiveness of these two risk mitigation interventions.

methodsThis was a prospective study on divers who tested positive for PFO or an atrial septal defect (ASD) and either decided to continue diving without closure ('conservative group'), or to close their PFO/ASD and continue diving ('closure group'). Divers' characteristics, medical history, history of diving and history of DCS were reported at enrollment and annually after that. The outcome measures were the incidence rate of DCS, frequency and intensity of diving activities, and adverse events of closure.

resultsDivers in both groups dived less and had a lower incidence rate of confirmed DCS than before the intervention. In the closure group (n = 42) the incidence rate of confirmed DCS decreased significantly. Divers with a large PFO experienced the greatest reduction in total DCS. In the conservative group (n = 23), the post-intervention decrease in confirmed DCS incidence rate was not significant. Of note, not all divers returned to diving after closure. Seven subjects reported mild adverse events associated with closure; one subject reported a serious adverse event.

conclusionsPFO closure should be considered on an individual basis. In particular, individuals who are healthy, have a significant DCS burden, a large PFO or seek to pursue advanced diving may benefit from closure.

Indexed as

Decompression SicknessDivingForamen OvaleForamen Ovale, PatentHumansProspective StudiesCardiovascularDecompression illnessDecompression sicknessRight-to-left shuntTrans-catheter closure

Identifiers

PMID31177513
PMCPMC6704009
OpenAlexW2949344202

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.