EBAss Newsletter

EBAss NEWSLETTER Issue 3

EBAss
Newsletter

July-September
2017

EBAss is all of you! Calendar of Events

Words from the Editor UHMS Annual Scientific Meeting,
28-30 June 2018, Disney's Coronado
by Damianos Tzavellas, General Springs Resort, Lake Buena Vista,
Florida
Secretary, President of EBAss https://www.uhms.org/
2nd Tricon Scientific Conference
Communication Committee (EUBS, SAUHMA, SPUMS), 23–29
September 2018
Dear members, from the delegates, the lec- Durban, South Africa
ture rooms and the venue. We http://www.tricon2018.org/
The release of this News- have also included the EBAss HTNA Annual Meeting, 2018,
letter has come at a time full of poster for the new role of Perth, Western Australia
preparations for our 1st Safety the Safety Manager that was http://www.htna.com.au/images/
Manager Course. All the Board published at the congress. conference-pdfs/2017-preliminary-pro-
of Directors and our host in Por- Finally, with great pleasure gram.pdf
to are still modifying the last we have gathered for one EBAss Safety Manager course, 17-20
details in the programme, the more time a good number of October, Portugal
presentations and the venue so new publications that refer http://www. www.ebass.org
that everything is in place and as to hyperbaric practices and EBAss General Assembly and meet-
functional as possible. The level a lot new hyperbaric con- ing for the Board of Directors, 21-22
of participation seems to have gresses for the coming year! October, Portugal
overcome our expectations for http://ebass.org/bd-and-ga-in-porto/
this very first attempt. There are And don’t forget..we British Hyperbaric Association
already 13 hyperbaric profes- welcome all of you that work Annual Scientific Meeting and AGM,
sionals around Europe that have as nurses and technicians, in 2018, Rugby, UK
been assigned to the course suc- Europe and abroad, to con- http://www.ukhyperbaric.com/meet-
cessfully. For those who didn’t tribute with your interest and ings/2018-annual-scientific-meet-
hear about the course until knowledge for the strength- ing-and-agm/
now, we apologise for any lack ening and expansion of this Canadian Undersea and Hyperbaric
in communication and we wait hyperbaric networking. Vis- Medical Association (CUHMA) Annu-
for them to come at the next it us at our GAs or our EUBS al Scientific Conference, 27-29 October
one, hopefully after one year. satellite meetings or com-
municate with us through
Please also find in this our newsletter and email.
newsletter our President’s re-
port from the last EUBS congress Feel free to send
in Ravenna as well as photos

news from your hyperbaric facility or hyperbar- 2017, Ottawa, ONTARIO
ic oxygen related articles for publication at our https://cuhma.ca/events/annual-scientif-
newsletter. You can also send comments for cur- ic-meeting
20th International Congress on Hyperbar-
rent or previous issues at [email protected] ic Medicine, 13-16 September 2020, Rio de
Janeiro
Enjoy your reading!! http://www.eubs.org/?ai1ec_event=20th-in-
ternational-congress-on-hyperbaric-medi-
EBAss News cine&instance_id=12

EBAss activities of the last 3 months

 EBAss was present at the last EUBS conference in Ravenna.
 A Safety Manager Course has been finalized and is about to run
for the 1st time in October 2017. Registration process has closed.
 BD has decided to review the statutes of the Association at the
next GA in Porto.
 A first communication with the new French Hyperbaric Associa-
tion has been made.

Report from the EBAss President from
the last EUBS congress in Ravenna

by Angeliki Chandrinou, President of EBAss

Dear members, TECHNOLOGY”. It was a very which are intended to work in
constructive meeting with much high-pressure environments.
The European Underwater information from various com- During the session, Professor J.
and Baromedical Society un- panies which are involved in the Desola referred to an accident
derwent the 43rd Congress of industry of hyperbaric chambers that happened a few weeks
Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine. as well as that of medical devic- ago in Spain and came across
In the splendid setting of Raven- es used under hyperbaric condi- negative comments as well as
na, 290 hyperbaric specialists tions. In addition, we heard an confusion about the definition
from 34 different countries met. interesting speech by the EUBS of "diving chamber" (referred
About 80 speakers presented President, Assoc. Professor Dr. to a non-medical device) and
13 themed topics and the EUBS Kot, regarding the expectations "hyperbaric chamber "(referred
Scientific Director reviewed and of users of medical devices to a medical device).
evaluated a total of 108 ab-
stracts, 68 posters and 40 oral The last 2 years’ common
presentations. The fields cov- efforts of both EUBS and EBAss
ered included intensive med- were also highlighted. Those
icine, radiotherapy, oncology, efforts have been focusing on
hyperbaric technology, under- the identification of ways that
water medicine, neurology and will ensure quality, safe provi-
difficult injuries. sion of services at a hyperbaric
unit and moreover, an attempt
As the President of EBAss, to replicate the spirit of the
I had the honor to represent idea «Prevention is better than
our Association, by being the cure». Such words have been
chair person at the BAROMEDI- stated thousands years ago,
CAL SESSION: “APPLICATION OF
STANDARDS FOR HYPERBARIC

by Hippocrates, paving the way for preventive medicine. Consequently, the new role of the “Safety
Manager” together with the “1st Safety Manager Course” which will take

place in Porto this October, have been widely
accepted by the Hyperbaric Community.

During the meeting, a poster with title
“Safety Management in Hyperbaric Facili-
ties” has been presented, authored by the
EBAss BD. It explains in detail this new role
which has been assigned for hyperbaric facil-
ities.

As the President of EBAss, I participated at the “Board of Repre-
sentatives” meeting and during the Gala dinner, I was delighted to be
honored by the EUBS President for the work of EBAss all these years,
offering me a commemorative gift.

During the EBAss workshop, the topics of discussion were the
conclusions from the meeting of the Board of Representatives and the
meeting of the Joint Committee for Accreditation of Centers. In addi-
tion, Dr. Kot reported details that may require changes in the certification of hyperbaric centers. At
the end we discussed details concerning the program and the presentations of the upcoming Safety
Manager course whereas Mr. Peter Kronlund presented us his interesting work “Improved Infection
Spread Control with Optimised Monoplane Room Design”.

Announcement of the EBAss Safety
Manager Course
personnel with the knowledge
by EBAss team, including: and skills needed to fulfil the
•the implementation of criteria for the role of the Safety
Admission Criteria Manager. The emphasis will be
The minimum requirements effective Safety Management and on the review of European Norms
Quality Assurance systems with that are related to hyperbaric
are completion of an introduc- the use of guidelines, clinical technology (e.g. EN 14931, EN
tory course in Hyperbaric Medi- protocols and internal audits that 14971, EN16081), presentation
cine and working experience in comply with local, national and of the European Code of Good
facilities that deliver Hyperbaric European directives as well as Practice with reference to clin-
Oxugen Therapy. Applications with evidence based practices. ical practice, staff and patient
are therefore considered from education, infection control
physicians, nurses, operators and •the application of risk as- policies, firefighting systems and
technicians. Priority will be given sessment and incident/accident strategies, documentation, risk
to nurses and operators that have reporting procedures within the analysis and general principles
been certified under the EBAss Hyperbaric Centre. in safety management such as
scheme of ECHRN and ECHCO. safety culture.
•the acceptance and mon-
Objective itoring of effective education Language
The course’s objective is programs; including requirements The official language of the
for Clinical Practice Development course is English. All study ma-
to prepare the participant for of the hyperbaric team. terial as well as exams will be
the role of the Safety Manager in given in English. Therefore, it is
Hyperbaric facilities. Main points Course Description strongly recommended that par-
of the role are based on a “Glob- This 3 day course (from 09.00-
al” approach to management of 17.00 each day) is designed to
safety and education within the provide experienced hyperbaric

ticipants have a very good level of English. Attendance, coffee and lunch breaks, travel ex-

Course Location penses and accomondation of instructors.

The venue will be announced at least 6 months Accomodation
before the beginning of every course. Participants are responsible for their travel and

Registration Fee accomondation arrangements.

400 EURO for EBAss members, 600 EURO for non Successful completion of this course is demon-
EBAss members strated by attendance for all days, a score of 70%
Fees are refundable upon cancellation up to 45 on the post test (in 30 minutes time), practical
days before each course’s starting date assessments and submission of a completed anony-
Registration is completed after payment of the mous course evaluation. Particiapants will also be
full fee amount able to sit an online test within 2 months after the
Fees will cover: Course syllabus, Certificate of course.

Recent Publications

abstracts of articles related to Hyperbaric Nurses and Technicians, excl. medical
indications or interventions

keywords: Hyperbaric, oxygen CONCLUSION:
search machine: Medline Long-term and repeated HBO₂
period of search: 6/2017 – 9/2017 treatment leads to damage
to the lung tissue. In urgent
1. A pleural vacuum relief marine rescue operations. situations or cases of severe
device for pleural drain unit Reid MP et al. 2017, Diving hypoxia, repeated HBO₂ ses-
use in the hyperbaric environ- Hyperb Med. Sep;47(3):168- sions may be necessary, and
ment. 172.
Gelsomino M. et al. thymoquinone (TQ) antiox-
2017, Diving Hyperb Med. CONCLUSION: idant agents may be useful
Sep;47(3):191-197. The probability of at least one for prevention of HBO₂-asso-
incident of DCS among atten- ciated injury. TQ may repre-
CONCLUSION: dants, with consequent strain sent a useful therapeutic op-
The water seal pleural drain on resources, is high if atten- tion during HBO₂ treatment.
unit (PDU) for pleural vacuum dants breathe air throughout
relief (PVR) device we have their exposure. The introduc- 4. Is decompression illness
developed works well, min- tion of 90 minutes of oxygen possible during hyperbar-
imizing attendant workload breathing greatly reduces ic therapy? a case report.
and automatically avoiding the probability of this inter- Gariel C et al. 2017. Un-
the excessive negative in- ruption to rescue operations. dersea Hyperb Med. May-
trapleural pressures (IPPs) Jun;44(3):283-285.
that can otherwise occur. This 3. Reduction of side ef-
device should only be used fects of hyperbaric oxy-
with suction. gen therapy with thymo-
quinone treatment in rats.
2. Decompressing recom- Gunes AE et al. 2017. Un-
pression chamber atten- dersea Hyperb Med. Jul-
dants during Australian sub- Aug;44(4):337-343.

CONCLUSION: that the pumps operate within manufacturer's
Given the risk of gastric barotrauma and specifications for flow rate and occlusion alarms at
venous gas embolism, physicians should be all stages of HBO₂ treatments, up to 4.0 ATA and
aware of gastric band history before HBO₂ pressurization and depressurization rates up to
therapy. 180 kPa/minute. The pumps do not require purging
with air or nitrogen and can be used unmodified,
5. Changes in pulmonary func- subject to the following conditions: pumps are
tion in hyperbaric chamber inside at- undamaged, clean, fully charged, and absent from
alcohol cleaning residue; pumps are powered from
tendants: a case-control study. the internal NiMH battery only; maximum pressure
Ozdemir A. et al. 2016. Undersea Hyperb exposure 4.0 ATA; maximum pressurization and de-
Med. Nov-Dec;43(7):805-811. pressurization rate of 180 kPa/minute; LVP modules
locked in place with retaining screws.
CONCLUSION:
Working as an inside attendant (IA) 8.Transcutaneous oximetry measurements of the
does not deteriorate pulmonary func- leg: comparing different measuring equipment and
tion in the short term. However, there is establishing values in healthy young adults.
a need for long-term follow-up studies. Trinks TP et al. 2017. Diving Hyperb Med.
Jun;47(2):82-87.
6. Test results for the evaluation of a glu-
cometer for use under hyperbaric condi- CONCLUSION:
tions: Technical report.
Tsouras T. et al. 2017. Undersea Hyperb Lower-leg TCOM measure-
Med. Jan-Feb;44(1):27-32. ments using different Ra-
diometer TCOM machines
CONCLUSION: were comparable. Hypoxia
The results indicate that the Abbott Optium has been defined as lower-leg TCOM values of less
FreeStyle H blood glucose monitor operat- than 40 mmHg in non-diabetic patients and this
ed normally when used in the hyperbaric is supported by our measurements. The majori-
chamber. This glucometer was found to ty (96.9%) of the lower leg TCOM values in healthy
perform within the calibration specification young adults are above the hypoxic threshold.
requirements for accuracy at all stages of
a typical hyperbaric treatment and as such 9.Applying quality improvement methods in a
the Abbott Optium FreeStyle H blood glu- hyperbaric oxygen program: reducing unnecessary
cose monitor was deemed safe for use in glucose testing.
the hyperbaric chamber at the Alfred Hos- Stevens SL et al. 2017. Undersea Hyperb Med. 2016
pital. Jul-Aug;43(4):427-435.

7. Evaluation of the Carefusion Alaris PC in- CONCLUSION:
fusion pump for hyperbaric oxygen therapy
conditions: Technical report. A quality improvement (QI) project implemented by
Smale A. and Tsouras T. 2017. Undersea a multidisciplinary team in a hyperbaric practice was
Hyperb Med. Jan-Feb;44(1):17-25. feasible and has improved the management of dia-
betic patients undergoing HBO₂ therapy. Considering
CONCLUSION: how the hyperbaric community values the culture of
We have found that the pumps pose no safety and considering the feasibility of this proj-
enhanced risk as an ignition source, and ect, more QI training and projects in hyperbaric pro-
grams should be performed.by our measurements.
The majority (96.9%) of the lower leg TCOM values in
healthy young adults are above the hypoxic threshold.

Attention!!

Our next General Assembly and meeting for the Board of Directors will be held
in Porto, Portugal at 20-21 of October 2017.

For information go to www.ebass.org.

The registration form for becoming a new EBAss member or renew your ex-

isting membership you can find online at http://ebass.org/registration-form/

The process for members to join the Board of Directors can be found in part IV

of the EBAss statutes at http://ebass.org/satutes/

EBAss
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Accreditation Education Safety Communication

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