Pulmonary barotrauma
Revision as of 00:49, 13 September 2015 by Rossdonaldson1 (talk | contribs)
Background
- Occurs when diver breathing compressed air ascends too rapidly
- Symptoms occur minutes to hours after surfacing
- Can occur without rapid ascent in pts w/ obstructive lung disease
- Lung rupture can lead to pneumomediastinum, pneumothorax, or air embolism
- Pneumomediastinum and pneumothorax do not require recompression
Clinical Features
Differential Diagnosis
Diving Emergencies
- Barotrauma of descent
- Otic barotrauma
- Pulmonary barotrauma
- Sinus barotrauma
- Mask squeeze
- Barodentalgia (trapped dental air causing squeeze)
- Barotrauma of ascent
- Pulmonary barotrauma (pulmonary overpressurization syndrome)
- Decompression sickness (DCS)
- Arterial gas embolism
- Alternobaric vertigo
- Facial baroparesis (Bells Palsy)
- At depth injuries
- Oxygen toxicity
- Nitrogen narcosis
- Hypothermia
- Contaminated gas mixture (e.g. CO toxicity)
- Caustic cocktail from rebreathing circuit
Barotrauma Types
- Otic barotrauma
- Pulmonary barotrauma
- Sinus barotrauma
- Mask squeeze
- Barodentalgia (trapped dental air causing squeeze)