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At least 379 records · Page 21Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

Decompression sickness in women: a possible relationship with the menstrual cycle.

BACKGROUND: Women are increasingly participating in recreational scuba diving and the professional roles of women are expanding in the fields of aviation, space, and diving. Evidence exists that there may be a relationship between altitude decompression sickness (DCS) and the menstrual cycle, although diving studies to support such findings are limited. The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of any relationship between the development of DCS in female sports divers, the phase of the menstrual cycle, and the use of the oral contraceptive pill (OCP). METHOD: Personal, dive, symptom, and menstrual history details were collected by questionnaire from women treated with hyperbaric therapy for DCS in 23 treatment centers worldwide. RESULTS: There were 150 records suitable for analysis. The phase in the menstrual cycle of the DCS incident was estimated. The DCS incidents were unevenly distributed throughout the cycle (p = 0.001) with the greatest percentage of incidents occurring in the first week of the menstrual cycle. The variation in incidence across the cycle appeared to be greatest for the non-OCP users (p = 0.01), and when age was taken into account there was a significant difference between the OCP and non-OCP users with respect to risk of DCS across the menstrual cycle (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that the risk of DCS may be dependent on the phase of the menstrual cycle and that the distribution of risk differs between OCP and non-OCP users.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Incidence of decompression sickness in hypoxia training with and without 30-min O2 prebreathe.

BACKGROUND: All naval aviators, navigators, and aircrewmen are required to participate in hypoxia familiarization training. This training is performed in a hypobaric chamber and is considered high risk due to the potential for barotrauma and/or decompression sickness (DCS). Prior analysis of the DCS in U.S. Navy hypobaric chambers revealed a significantly higher incidence among inside observers (IOs) compared with students. In response to these reports, all IOs are required to denitrogenate by breathing 100% oxygen for 30 min prior to altitude exposure (prebreathing). Although the Army, Navy, and Air Force prebreathe for 30 min prior to most hypobaric training exposures, there have been no reports validating the efficacy of this measure. This study examined the incidence of altitude DCS during training exposures to simulated altitudes of 25,000 ft (25k) and 35,000 ft (35k) in IOs and students, some of whom prebreathed and some of whom did not. METHODS: Exposures and DCS cases for a period of 9 yr were tabulated from training reports maintained at the Naval Operational Medicine Institute in Pensacola, FL. Chi-square or Fisher's Exact test was used to compare the data sets and p < or = 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: The overall DCS incidence for students and IOs for all chamber profiles was 0.25%. The incidence for 25k was 0.29% for students who did not prebreathe and 0.15% for IOs who did (p = 0.10). Within the student group there was a 0.44% DCS incidence for 25k with no prebreathe and a 0.17% DCS incidence for 35k with prebreathe (p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: A 30-min prebreathe prior to altitude exposure appears to contribute to a reduction in the risk of DCS during hypobaric chamber training.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1990

The risk of developing decompression sickness during air travel following altitude chamber flight.

Approximately 35,000 students are trained annually in United States Air Force (USAF) altitude chambers. Students who depart the training site via aircraft on the same day as their altitude chamber exposure may place themselves at increased risk for decompression sickness (DCS). Air travel as a passenger in the immediate post-chamber flight period is unrestricted by current USAF regulations. A retrospective study was conducted to assess the potential risk involved in such post-chamber flight travel. During the years 1982-87, there were 292 cases of DCS involving altitude chamber students which were subsequently treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Only seven cases were found wherein the student was asymptomatic prior to air travel and subsequently developed DCS. Because the percentage of students who postpone travel is unknown, a precise relative risk could not be determined. Although the number of cases where sequential chamber and aircraft hypobaric exposures has initiated DCS is small, the potential for such occurrences remains a health concern.

Aerospace Medicine↗
PubMed1986

Pain-only decompression sickness affecting the orbicularis oculi.

A case is reported of a diver who experienced the onset of pain in the left orbicularis oculi muscle approximately 20 min after surfacing from an experimental dive. A careful neurologic examination disclosed no abnormality. The response of the orbicularis oculi muscle to stimulation of the facial nerve and the blink reflex were both normal as recorded with a clinical neurophysiologic recording system (Nicolet CA 1000). The pain resolved quickly with recompression, supporting a diagnosis of pain-only decompression sickness in this small facial muscle.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Decompression sickness from saturation diving: a case control study of some diving exposure characteristics.

A comprehensive computerized database of diving activity for a Norwegian offshore diving contractor [Stolt-Nielsen Seaway (SNS)] covering the years 1983-1990 has been established. The database contains detailed dive information about 12,087 surface-oriented and 2,622 saturation dives. During this period a majority of the divers were permanently employed. Preliminary analysis had suggested that decompression sickness (DCS) might be the result of exposure to factors causing pathophysiologic effects which accumulate over the course of a single dive or a series of dives. This concept evolved into the HADES (Highest Accumulated Decompression Score) theory which assumes that DCS is predictable once the underlying exposure factors are understood. The incidence of DCS among the SNS divers from saturation diving in the North Sea was studied by use of a "nested" case-control design. Twenty-one case dives (i.e., dives where DCS occurred) were compared with 41 randomly selected control dives. For these dives, several saturation dive characteristics were established. The relative pressure change between maximum and minimum storage depths was significantly greater among the cases. For each 1% increase in the relative pressure change there was a 5% increase in the probability of a saturation dive resulting in DCS. Significantly more cases than controls performed a saturation dive with more than one storage depth, and the data suggested that there were more and greater ascending and descending changes in storage depth conditions among the affected divers.

Case-Control Studies↗