Endorsed docs & guidelines – European Underwater and Baromedical Society

EUBS, as the encompassing Scientific Society for Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine in Europe, endorses the work and publications of the European Committee for Hyperbaric Medicine (ECHM). The Consensus Documents and Guidelines prepared by the ECHM can be downloaded from the ECHM website (www.echm.org). Other documents and Position Statements, as they will be prepared by the Publications Committee and approved by the ExCom, will be placed here in due time.

20 December 2022
ECHM-EUBS Joint Position Statement on the use of ‘mild hyperbaric therapies’ in humans

Within the European Union hyperbaric chambers are regarded as ‘class IIb medical device’ according to the Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) and have to meet strict safety standards to prevent harm to patients, caregivers, and third parties.

ECHM and EUBS make a Joint Position Statement on the use of pressure chambers marketed as ‘low-pressure hyperbaric chambers’ and claimed to be beneficial for a wide range of effects and wellness purposes.

You can download the document from the ECHM website and also here. More languages will be added:

COVID-19 Pandemic – Position Statements

In response to the current and ongoing COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, the EUBS, but also other scientific societies in hyperbaric and diving medicine, have issued guidelines and recommendations for hyperbaric centres and the diving community. These documents highlight specific issues related to the diving and hyperbaric environment, besides the general recommendations issued by local, national and international health care authorities.

While the urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be (for now) less than in 2020-2021, these documents are kept as a reference and are accessible here.

EuroIntervention 2018 (e-pub ahead of print)
European position paper on the management of patients with Patent Foramen Ovale.
Part 1. General approach and left circulation thromboembolism

The presence of a patent foramen ovale (PFO) is implicated in the pathogenesis of a number of medical conditions; however, the subject remains controversial and no official statements have been published. This interdisciplinary paper, prepared with involvement of eight European scientific societies, aims to review the available trial evidence and to define the principles needed to guide decision making in patients with PFO. In order to guarantee a strict process, position statements were developed with the use of a modified grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation (GRADE) methodology. A critical qualitative and quantitative evaluation of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures was performed, including assessment of the risk/benefit ratio. The level of evidence and the strength of the position statements of particular management options were weighed and graded according to predefined scales. Despite being based often on limited and non-randomised data, while waiting for more conclusive evidence, it was possible to conclude on a number of position statements
regarding a rational general approach to PFO management and to specific considerations regarding left circulation thromboembolism.

For some therapeutic aspects, it was possible to express stricter position statements based on randomised trials. This position paper provides the first largely shared, interdisciplinary approach for a rational PFO management based on the best available evidence.

Download this document here.

European Wound Healing Association (EWMA) 2017
Use of Oxygen Therapies in Wound Healing

The overall aim of this document is to highlight the present knowledge with regard to the use of oxygen therapies in the care and treatment of wounds of different aetiologies, which fail to progress through an orderly and timely sequence of repair. In this document, these types of wounds are defined as ‘non-healing’. Excluded from this document are animal and cellular models, acute wounds, such as surgical/trauma wounds and burns. The distribution of supplementary systemic oxygen at barometric pressure in connection with surgery is not covered by this document. We provide an overview of the treatment options, as well as assessments of the best available evidence on their respective results. In addition the document will go into detail with specific aspects and current discussions regarding the use of oxygen in wound healing including:

The role of oxygen and hypoxia in the wound healing process
Patient perspectives of oxygen treatment
Cost-effectiveness aspects of oxygen therapies
What remains controversial with suggestions for future actions.

In line with other similar documents published by the European Wound Management Association (EWMA) during recent years the document structure is inspired by the different elements that are usually included in the health technology assessment (HTA) approach. Thus, it is not a traditional position document that discusses different treatment strategies, when to use which product, or assesses one product against another, but rather a holistic picture of the current practice and reality of the use of oxygen therapies in wound healing.

Download this document here.