Annual Diving Report - Divers Alert Network

2. PROJECT DIVE EXPLORATION
administered oxygen but the symptoms did not change. After a good night’s sleep he was
symptom free. Two divers had more specific symptoms in the cases described below.
Case 1
A 41-year-old female, 69 inches tall and weighing 143 lbs (BMI=21.2 kg/m 2 ), with a history of
allergy, back pain, and ear/sinus surgery made six dives in three days from a Caribbean charter
boat. Her first dive on the third day was to 100 fsw (30 msw) with a second dive to 45 fsw/13 msw
(Figure 2.5.3-1). She had problems on the safety stop due to surge. After the dive, she had slight
tingling and numbness in her arms and toes. The symptoms were not severe enough to prompt
her to seek medical advice. Symptoms resolved completely within 24 hours without treatment.
Case 2
0
0 50 100 150 200 250
-20
-40
-60
-80
-100
-120
PDCS = 0.42% PDCS = 0.43%
Time (min)
Figure 2.5.3-1 Mild tingling and numbness in arms and toes resolved
spontaneously without treatment. Classified as ambiguous.
A forty-year-old female, 63 inches tall and 139 lbs (BMI=24.6 kg/m 2 ), with advanced open water
certification and 104 lifetime dives had been treated for DCI 14 years earlier after she
experienced seizures upon surfacing. She underwent an extensive medical work up after that
incident. Computerized x-ray image of her brain and test for patent foramen ovale (PFO) were
negative. This time, she dived from a liveaboard in Caribbean, making 15 dives in five days to
maximum depths of 57-153 fsw (18-47 msw). Dives from her last day are shown in Figure 2.5.3-
2. The estimated PDCS after the last four dives were 1.8, 3.2, 4.5, and 2.9%, respectively. Five
hours after the last dive, she felt exhausted, lightheaded, dizzy, and her lips were numb. She was
given two 20 minute surface oxygen cycles with a 20 minute air break. All symptoms disappeared
except fatigue. She did not seek any medical evaluation for this episode. All symptoms except
numbness of the lips were constitutional. As numbness of the lips is not common in DCS and
could be due to hyperventilation, we classified this case as ambiguous.
Annual Diving Report: 2006 Edition 27