Pneumocephalus after an uneventful scuba dive.
Scuba diving has become increasingly popular in the last 20 yr. Although it is considered safe, accidents, sometimes with fatal outcomes, do occur. The incidence of diving-related CNS barotrauma is low and it has been reported very infrequently. The clinical presentation may range from minimal dysesthesias to complete quadriplegia, encephalopathy, or death. In this paper we present a case of pneumocephalus in a 36-yr-old male scuba diver that presented with minor neurologic symptoms. A discussion, including a review of the literature, is also presented. The authors recommend that diving-induced neurologic dysbarism syndromes, including pneumocephalus, should be considered a possible cause when a scuba diver presents with neurologic symptoms, even minor ones.
Zeba
Ivica
I
Department of Pulmonology, University Hospital Rijeka, Tome Strizica 3, 5100 Rijeka, Croatia.
Barkovic
Igor
I
Knezevic
Sinisa
S
Lender
Dubravka Matanic
DM
Bralic
Marina
M
Bulat-Kardum
Ljiljana
L
D000328:Adult; D001469:Barotrauma / Q000209:etiology*; D004242:Diving / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011007:Pneumocephalus / Q000209:etiology*