open access
Medical assessment of fitness to dive after COVID-19
Affiliations- Polish Society of Hyperbaric Medicine and Technology, Gdynia, Poland
- Department of Epidemiology and Tropical Medicine, Military Institute of Medicine, Warsaw, Poland
- Department of Tropical Medicine and Epidemiology, Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Gdansk, Poland
open access
Abstract
Since the global pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological agent of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection started, millions of people globally have become infected. It must not be forgotten that thousands of those affected are commercial or recreational divers. A severe COVID-19 seriously affects the respiratory system and the pulmonary parenchyma but it may also involve the cardiovascular and the blood coagulation system. For this reason, many divers and hyperbaric medicine specialists are becoming increasingly concerned about a diver’s ability to safely return to diving after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. The article presents current guidelines for diving fitness health assessment after a COVID-19 both for active and prospective divers, with particular emphasis on the types of diagnostic procedures and tests to be performed in cases of asymptomatic infection with SARS-CoV-2 as well as in patients who have recovered from a symptomatic COVID-19.
Abstract
Since the global pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological agent of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection started, millions of people globally have become infected. It must not be forgotten that thousands of those affected are commercial or recreational divers. A severe COVID-19 seriously affects the respiratory system and the pulmonary parenchyma but it may also involve the cardiovascular and the blood coagulation system. For this reason, many divers and hyperbaric medicine specialists are becoming increasingly concerned about a diver’s ability to safely return to diving after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. The article presents current guidelines for diving fitness health assessment after a COVID-19 both for active and prospective divers, with particular emphasis on the types of diagnostic procedures and tests to be performed in cases of asymptomatic infection with SARS-CoV-2 as well as in patients who have recovered from a symptomatic COVID-19.
Keywords
diving, fitness, health assessment, COVID-19, recommendations
About this articleTitle
Medical assessment of fitness to dive after COVID-19
Journal
Issue
Article type
Review article
Pages
223-227
Published online
2021-09-29
Page views
5072
Article views/downloads
2182
DOI
10.5603/IMH.2021.0041
Pubmed
Bibliographic record
IMH 2021;72(3):223-227.
Keywords
diving
fitness
health assessment
COVID-19
recommendations
Authors
Jarosław Krzyżak
Krzysztof Korzeniewski
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