Delayed treatment of serious decompression sickness.
We report the cases of three patients with residual symptoms from diving decompression sickness, each of whom presented to a recompression chamber three to seven days following original exposure. All three had complete resolution of symptomatology despite the delayed treatment. The late resolution of symptoms is evidence both of residual bubble effect and of distal tissue hypoxia responding to oxygen therapy with the recompression. We recommend that decompression sickness symptoms be treated whenever they are seen, even ten to 14 days postinjury.
D000328:Adult; D003665:Decompression Sickness / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D004242:Diving / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006931:Hyperbaric Oxygenation; D008297:Male; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D012008:Recurrence; D013997:Time Factors