Annual Diving Report - Divers Alert Network

APPENDIX A. DIVE INJURY CASE REPORTS
Treatment Table 6 with improvement. A second treatment the next day relieved all symptoms
except fatigue that resolved the following day. She was diagnosed as having had neurological
DCS.
Case 5 – Experienced recreational diver performed a single cold water
dive and developed subjective symptoms that were largely relieved by
recompression 48 hours after the dive.
A 32-year-old experienced male recreational diver had performed 15 dives in the past 12 months
with a lifetime total of more than 200 dives, frequently in cold fresh water. He was in good
physical condition, and his only medical problem was elevated cholesterol for which he took a
prescription medication.
He made an uneventful air dive to 95 ffw (29 mfw) for 35 minutes with a safety stop on open
circuit scuba. He wore a drysuit as the water temperature was 36°F which was 5-10 degrees
colder than he was used to. He finished about 1 PM and carried his gear from the shore to his
vehicle requiring significant exertion. There were no symptoms.
Upon awaking more than 48 hours later, he had numbness and tingling in the index finger and
thumb of both hands which progressed to his forearms and biceps. He also felt mentally unclear
and complained of pain in both shoulders and neck. The symptoms worsened during the day, and
he sought medical attention at a local hospital with a hyperbaric unit.
The Emergency Room physician found no objective signs and referred the diver for evaluation by
the hyperbaric physician whose findings were similar but decided to recompress the diver for his
subjective complaints. Most of the symptoms cleared with the extended Table 6, and residual
numbness in his fingers and thumbs resolved gradually over the next two weeks.
Case 6 – Blurred vision and motor weakness after 27 dives over 13
days resolved with first aid oxygen and recompression.
An experienced 57-year-old recreational diver had participated in 70 dives during the past year
with a lifetime total of over 400 dives. He had a history of hypertension for which he took two
medications. He occasionally took medication to aid sleep.
He was on a vacation at a resort where he participated in a total of 27 dives over 13 days. All his
dives had been uneventful with a maximum depth of 82 fsw (25 msw) and a last dive depth of 62
fsw (19 msw). He dived according to the recommendations of his dive computer and performed
safety stops on every dive.
Within 5 minutes of surfacing from the last dive, he noted blurred vision and then generalized
motor weakness (more pronounced on the left than right) and decreased sensation in all
extremities with the weakness being more pronounced on the left side. He was unable to stand
without assistance. The boat crew placed him on first aid oxygen, and within 30 minutes, the
blurred vision resolved, and his right extremities had returned to normal, but his left side remained
weak although deep sensation had returned. He remained on oxygen for almost an hour and was
taken to a local chamber where he was treated (exact treatment unknown) and experienced
complete resolution of his symptoms.
66 Annual Diving Report: 2006 Edition