| Abstract: | A 24-year-old hospital corpsman, a volunteer in a series of dry chamber air dives to a simulated pressure equivalent to 188 FSWG (57.3 MSWG), developed left knee pain shortly after standard decompression. A tentative diagnosis of decompression sickness was made and recompression therapy was initiated with alleviation of pain occurring at 60 FSWG (18.3 MSWG). A U.S. Navy Treatment Table "5 (oxygen breathing) regimen was then selected and completed uneventfully. The subject had been undergoing biomedical evaluation for several days prior to diving; thus, a clinically diagnosed case of dysbarism with subsequent treatment was available for study. This individual was then monitored for a 10-d period. The acute phase of decompression sickness was characterized by a marked shortening of clotting time and a thrombocytopenia with accompanying increased platelet aggregates. The recovery phase was categorized by a variety of hematological and bio-chemical changes. Hemodilution, an elevated megathrombocyte index, and a tendency toward eosinopenia were evident for most of the 10-d observation period. Other persistent alterations detected during this period included a relative hyperglycemia, depressed urine Na+/K+, and increased ketosteroid excretion. These observations indicate that abatement of pain after treatment of dysbarism can be followed by the onset of a variety of biochemical and hematological changes. Moreover, complete recovery may require upwards of 10 d. |
