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Decompression sickness during saturation dives
1Behavioral Sciences Department, U.S. Naval Medical Research Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20014, USA.
Undersea Biomedical Research
|December 1, 1976
Summary
Navy saturation divers experienced mostly knee pain from decompression sickness, often under pressure. Current recompression treatments provided limited relief, suggesting a need for new therapeutic approaches.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Diving Medicine
- Occupational Health
Background:
- Saturation diving involves prolonged exposure to increased ambient pressure.
- Decompression sickness (DCS) is a risk associated with pressure changes.
- Current DCS treatment protocols may be inadequate for saturation diving scenarios.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of current DCS treatment procedures in saturation divers.
- To identify factors contributing to DCS during saturation dives.
- To explore limitations of existing recompression therapies.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of available U.S. Navy saturation diving data.
- Review of DCS case occurrences, symptoms, and treatment outcomes.
- Correlation of symptom onset depth and recompression ratios with treatment efficacy.
Main Results:
- DCS in saturation divers primarily manifested as musculoskeletal or joint pain, predominantly in the knees (96%).
- Symptoms often appeared while divers were still under pressure (89%).
- Full pain relief was achieved in only 35% of treated cases, with residual pain common.
Conclusions:
- Existing recompression strategies are often insufficient for treating DCS in saturation divers.
- Factors like increased pain, psychological pressure, and lack of severe symptoms influence treatment decisions.
- Future DCS treatments may require a paradigm shift away from solely increasing pressure to reduce bubble volume.