Intra-Individual Test-Retest Variation Regarding Venous Gas Bubble Formation During High Altitude Exposures

INTRODUCTION:Hypobaric decompression sickness remains a problem during high-altitude aviation. The prevalence of venous gas emboli (VGE) serves as a marker of decompression stress and has been used as a method in evaluating the safety/risk associated with aviation profiles and/or gas mixtures. However, information is lacking concerning the variability of VGE formation when exposed to the same hypobaric profile on different occasions. In this paper, intra-individual test-retest variation regarding bubble formation during repeated hypobaric exposures is presented. The data can be used to determine the sample size needed for statistical power. METHOD:A total of 19 male, nonsmoking subjects volunteered for altitude exposures to 24,000 ft (7315 m). VGE was measured using ultrasound scanning and scored according to the Eftedal-Brubakk (EB) scale. Intraindividual test-retest variation in bubble formation (maximum VGE) was evaluated in subjects exposed more than once to hypobaric pressure. The statistical reliability was examined between paired exposures using the Intraclass Correlation test. G*Power version 3.1.9.6 was used for power calculations. RESULTS: During repeated 20-30 and 70-min exposures to 24,000 ft, 42% (N = 19, CI 23-67%) and 29% (N = 7, CI 5-70%) of the subjects varied between maximum EB scores < 3 and >= 3. The sample size needed to properly reject statistical significance of 1 EB step nominal difference between two paired exposures varied between 29-51 subjects. CONCLUSION:The large intraindividual test-retest variations in bubble grades during repeated hypobaric exposures highlight the need for relatively large numbers of subjects to reach statistical power when there are no or small differences in decompression stress between the exposures.