INTRODUCTION Dysbaric osteonecrosis is a rare illness in professional divers and compressed-air workers. The correlation between dysbaric osteonecrosis and previous decompression sickness with osteoarthromuscular pain (type 1 decompression sickness) remains a controversial subject. The probability for ischemic lesions detected with MRI to turn into osteonecrosis after decompression sickness is ...

In this study we assessed the reliability of a tilting-board grip score as a measure of decompression sickness in rats. In experiments using a hyperbaric compression/decompression protocol, rats were observed for signs of decompression sickness and their grip strength measured on a tilting particle board hinged to a metal frame. Angles at which rats lost grip were converted to gravitational vec...

Scuba diving is associated with an important risk of devel­oping decompression sickness secondary to formation of gas bubbles inside the body. The latter is formed mainly by nitrogen in the body on the diver’s way to the surface (1,2). In some cases, it might injure the central nervous system. Several decompression cases that have been asso­ciated with neurologic symptoms are described in the l...

by T.J.R. Francis, D.J. Smith and J.J. W. Sykes, Institute of Naval Medicine, Hampshire, England. The current means by which we classify decompression sickness dates back only 30 years to the experience gained during the construction of the Dartford Tunnel in London. Golding et al [1] proposed a system for decompression sickness based upon perceived severity of the cases which arose in the cais...

Deep sea divers, aviators and astronauts are at risk of decompression sickness when the ambient pressure reductions exceed a critical threshold. Venous bubbles associated with decompression sickness have the potential to react with the vascular membrane and adjacent blood products, eliciting an inflammatory cascade. Preventive measures usually involve careful decompression procedures to avoid o...

The etiology of decompression sickness is discussed from the point of view of its historical development from 1670 (Robert Boyle) to the present. A number of authors are cited who have called attention to circumstances unexplained by the bubble theory, and pointing to the existence of other mechanisms in the production of decompression sickness. The concept of disseminated intravascular coagula...

A 26-year-old male presented at our hospital complaining of vertigo after scuba diving. He had directional nystagmus and was hard of hearing in his right ear. An ultrasound study revealed a snowstorm pattern in the inferior vena cava, corresponding to grade III by Spencer’s classification without persistent foramen ovale. He was diagnosed with decompression sickness and hyperventilation and tra...