Decompression Sickness and Arterial Gas Embolism

DECOMPRESSION SICKNESS, IN WHICH BUBBLES FORMED FROM DISsolved gas (usually nitrogen) cause tissue and vascular injury after a reduction in environmental pressure, may occur in diving, aviation, and spaceflight. Arterial gas embolism, in which bubbles introduced into the arterial circulation cause multifocal ischemia, may occur after diving-related, iatrogenic, or accidental pulmonary barotrauma or by direct iatrogenic introduction of gas into the vasculature. Because it may be difficult to clinically differentiate decompression sickness from arterial gas embolism in divers and the treatment protocols for the two disorders are the same, the term "decompression illness" is sometimes used to indicate the presence of decompression sickness, arterial gas embolism, or both, but the separate terms are used here. Divers with nonspecific symptoms may present to clinicians who have received no specific training during medical school or residency in dealing with these disorders, which can pose challenges in the differential diagnosis and choice of appropriate treatment.