It is almost always a good idea to challenge received wisdom. It is not at all a good idea to discard it because someone is "reconsidering" it.
On the evidence of this thread there are two hyperbaric specialists who are certain that 100% O2 is the first aid for DCI "period".
Quote:
Pure oxgen causes the blood vessels to narrow. Whilst the bubbles will be reducing, this is not immediate. Therefore there is a possibility that the blood vessels will contract to the point of a bubble causing a blockage.
With all due respect this is just wrong in many many ways. Oxygen does not cause systemic blood vessels to narrow. There are not circulating arterial bubbles in most patients with DCI. Arteries get smaller and smaller as they divide so a bubble will have to stop somewhere.
If we are to reconsider the use of 100% O2 in first aid (and therefore presumably treatment) of DCI there would have to be some evidence that an alternative was better or, at the very least, a theoretical reason that actually made sense. There is no evidence and there is no good reason.
Dave T