secondary medical impairment following spinal cord injury(SCI). Ultrasound (US) of the kidneys, ureters and bladder(KUB) has been recommended as a useful, non-invasivesurveillance method with good diagnostic sensitivity. Thisstudy aims to understand US diagnosed NB complicationsand identify its associated factors.Methods: We enrolled all patients referred for SCIrehabilitation from 2012 to 2015 that fulfilled our studycriteria. Data that were retrospectively reviewed includeddemographic and clinical characteristic data; and US KUBsurveillance studies.Results: Out of 136 electronic medical records reviewed, 110fulfilled the study criteria. The prevalence of NB in our studypopulation was 80.9%. We found 22(20%) of the patientsshowed evidence of US diagnosed NB complications withthe mean detection of 9.61±7.91 months following initial SCI.The reported NB complications were specific morphologicalchanges in the bladder wall 8(36.4%); followed byunilateral/bilateral hydronephrosis 7(31.8%); bladder and/orrenal calculi 5(22.7%); and mixed complication 2(9.1%)respectively. Half of the patients with NB complications hadurodynamic diagnosis of neurogenic detrusor overactivitywith/without evidence of detrusor sphincter dyssynergia.We found co-existing neurogenic bowel, presence ofspasticity and mode of bladder management weresignificantly associated factors with US diagnosed NBcomplications (p<0.05), while spasticity was its predictorwith adjusted Odds Ratio value of 3.93 (1.14, 13.56).Conclusion: NB is a common secondary medical impairmentin our SCI population. A proportion of them had USdiagnosed NB complications. Co-existing neurogenic bowel,presence of spasticity and mode of bladder managementwere its associated factors; while spasticity was itspredictor.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate scuba diving induced exercise response in novice divers as required in open water scuba diving certification. Methods: Maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) was performed in 30 novice divers before and within 24 hours after a standard scuba diving open water certification diving protocol of four open water dives. Results: A significant increase in maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) in mL·kg-1·min-1 after scuba diving training [25.84 (6.0) vs. 27.04 (7.0)] (p<0.05) suggestive of an increase in exercise performance. Ventilatory drive (VE/VCO2) also showed a significant increase 27.95 (2.7) vs. 30.07 (5.3). Ventilatory anaerobic threshold (VAT), blood pressure and lung function parameters showed no significant differences with open water scuba diving certification training. Conclusion In novice divers, repeated training exposure during open water scuba diving certification results in increased cardiorespiratory fitness. Although further corroborating studies are needed, this would suggest that recreational scuba diving may be an option for exercise promotion in the future.
Diving ; Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine ; Oxygen Consumption ; Exercise