[Serious pulmonary barotrauma in a child after first-time scuba dive].
Scuba diving is increasingly popular for children. However, this activity, including in shallow water, can be responsible for severe accidents. We report the case of a 13-year-old boy who dove for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea and suffered pulmonary barotraumas, complicated by arterial gas embolism with pneumomediastinum, cerebral, and coronary injuries. Any symptoms occurring after a dive, even in shallow water, must be considered a diving accident. Emergency medical personnel should contact a hyperbaric center for advice. In case of coronary or cerebral gaseous embolism, specific management requiring therapeutic recompression is urgently required.
Département d'anesthésie-réanimation, polyclinique de l'Atlantique, Saint-Herblain, France. drleguen@polyclinique-atlantique.fr
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Le Guen
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Halbert
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Gras Le Guen
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Coulange
D000293:Adolescent; D001469:Barotrauma / Q000209:etiology*; D004242:Diving / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D055370:Lung Injury / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male