Hana kai ii: a 17-day dry saturation dive at 18.6 ATA. III. Body fluid balance.
Comprehensive studies on body fluid balance on 5 divers were conducted during the Hana Kai II dive (17 days at 18.6 ATA and 7 days of decompression). Daily urine flow increased from about 2000 ml at 1 ATA to 2600 ml at 18.6 ATA, at 31 degrees C. This diuresis was accompanied by a reduction in urine osmolality (from 650 to 500 mOsm) and a slight increase in osmolal clearance. Endogenous creatinine clearance remained at about 173 ml/min throughout the dive. Despite such a sustained diuresis, neither daily water intake nor total body water volume changed significantly. The plasma renin activity changed little, while both plasma aldosterone concentration and urinary aldosterone excretion increased significantly during the first week at 18.6 ATA. The plasma prolactin concentration showed a significant decrease during the first 3 days at 18.6 ATA. The daily excretion of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) decreased significantly (by 40%) 4 days after compression and remained low throughout the rest of the dive. Insensible waterloss at 18.6 ATA was 35% lower than that at 1 ATA. It is suggested that the observed hyperbaric diuresis is due primarily to suppression of ADH as a result of suppression of insensible water loss.