ABSTRACT
The Newcastle Registry computer records have been searched to reveal personal and hyperbaric experience characteristics for two groups of compressed-air workers: cases (who developed radiological bone changes) and controls (who did not). t tests were used to identify any factors for which there was a significant difference between the groups. Age and experience of acute decompression sickness (DCS) were found to be the most important, though the separation achieved with a discriminant model based on these plus an important qualitative factor (the man’s job) was disappointing. Several improvements to be incorporated at the next stage of the work are suggested.
