Annual Diving Report - Divers Alert Network

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2. PROJECT DIVE EXPLORATION
PDCS = 1.8% PDCS = 3.2% PDCS = 4.5% PDCS = 2.9%
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Time (min)
Figure 2.5.3-2 Exhaustion, lightheadedness, and dizziness resolved (except for
fatigue) with first aid oxygen. Classified as ambiguous.
2.5.4 DCS
There were five DCS cases for an annual incidence of 2 cases per 10,000 dives. Two cases
classified as DCS I and three cases as DCS II (one cardio-pulmonary) were reported. First aid
oxygen relieved symptoms in two cases. One case received treatment Table 6 in addition and the
other was not recompressed. All cases resolved completely.
Case 1. Pain in right arm (DCS I).
This was an experienced, 34-year-old male diver, 6 feet tall and 185 pounds (BMI=25.1 kg/m 2 ),
with a history of back surgery and ear barotrauma. He dived from the beach, instructing students,
for two consecutive days and made two dives on the first day and three dives on the second day.
He breathed compressed air and wore a drysuit. One student made many short dives, and the
instructor ascended several times to help. About four hours after the dive, he became aware of a
pain in his right arm. The pain was about three inches above the wrist in the radius with a severity
of 5 on a 0-10 scale. It persisted for a full day spreading into the thumb and elbow of the same
arm. After consulting DAN, the diver was admitted to a hyperbaric chamber two days after
symptom onset. He received one recompression treatment following the Kindwall protocol with
complete symptom relief.
28 Annual Diving Report: 2006 Edition