Diving emergencies

Abstract

Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA) diving popularity is increasing tremendously, reaching a total of 9 million people in the US during 2001, and 50,000 in the UK in 1985. Over the past 10 years, new advances, equipment improvements, and improved diver education have made SCUBA diving safer and more enjoyable. Most diving injuries are related to the behaviour of the gases and pressure changes during descent and ascent. The four main pathologies in diving medicine include: barotrauma (sinus, otic, and pulmonary); decompression illness (DCI); pulmonary edema and pharmacological; and toxic effects of increased partial pressures of gases. The clinical manifestations of a diving injury may be seen during a dive or up to 24 h after it. Physicians living far away from diving places are not excluded from the possibility of encountering diver-injured patients and therefore need to be aware of these injuries. This article reviews some of the principles of diving and pathophysiology of diving injuries as well as the acute treatment, and further management of these patients.