Decompression Sickness, Intervention Study on Clinical Features of Two Study Samples Treated in a Single Hyperbaric Unit at Naval Hospital Trincomalee, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Decompression sickness (DCS) is a 100% treatable occupational health hazard related to diving activities. Physiopathology is bubbles forming in tissue or blood from dissolved Nitrogen on ascent if time and/or depth of dive are too rapid. The Trincomalee Navy hospital has a hyperbaric medicine facility in Sri Lanka. The first study sample included 21[males] in year 2006 and the second study sample included 26 cases treated from January 2010 to June 2014. The first sample included 100% DCS type 2 patients, and 86.95% of DCS type 2 cases were there in the second sample. The mean age of the second sample was 43.8 years. 100% male divers in the first sample and one female in the second sample diving at Maldives [type1, diving depth 18m]. Cases of second sample had a mean bottom time of 69.5 minutes, and 57.14% of cases had more than 01hour total time. The mean diving depth of the second sample was reported as 62.95m. The initial symptom of all cases in the first sample occurred within 6 hours after surfacing in all cases and reached to recompression treatment 6 to 72 hrs. 76.2% cases were in age 40-50 and the rest were in 50-60 age group.