Decompression sickness or ciguatera intoxication: a case report

This report presents the case of a diver who suffered from ciguatera intoxication (CTX). After three days of consecutive diving, he arrived at hospital with symptoms of chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea, and had sensory abnormalities across his body, arms and legs. Although his clinical signs and symptoms may have suggested cardiac involvement or decompression sickness (DCS), ultimately his condition was caused by CTX after eating fish. This case illustrates the similarities between DCS and food intoxication. The common pathology of CTX is described and its differential diagnosis with DCS is discussed.