A case of decompression sickness in a commercial pilot

We report a case of decompression sickness (DCS) followed by pulmonary edema in a 47-year-old commercial pilot who operated a non-pressurized turboprop twin at flight level 290. He became unconscious and recovered after an emergency descent. The pilot collapsed and a pulmonary edema occurred 8 h aft...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inAviation, space, and environmental medicine Vol. 60; no. 10 Pt 1; p. 990
Main Authors Wolf, C W, Petzl, D H, Seidl, G, Burghuber, O C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.10.1989
Subjects
Aerospace Medicine
Altitude
Decompression Sickness
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:We report a case of decompression sickness (DCS) followed by pulmonary edema in a 47-year-old commercial pilot who operated a non-pressurized turboprop twin at flight level 290. He became unconscious and recovered after an emergency descent. The pilot collapsed and a pulmonary edema occurred 8 h after landing. The patient improved rapidly with fluid replacement and without hyperbaric therapy, which was not available at that time. This course of DCS is unusual because it is reported that fluid replacement without hyperbaric therapy normally cannot recover severe cases of DCS. The considerable increase in body weight of this pilot within the last 6 months may have been a predisposing factor for development of decompression sickness.
ISSN:0095-6562