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| Image credit: Brett Seymour |
Authors: Patrick Wallace, DO PGY-2
Emergency Medicine Resident
University of Nevada Las Vegas
AAEM/RSA Education Committee
Laurie Bezjian Wallace, DO PGY-2
Family Medicine Resident
Mike
O’Callaghan Military Medical Center
Intro
“Dysbarism” collectively refers to diving-related disorders. These disorders are relatively common and range in severity. This topic is high yield on board exams and is also important for emergency medicine providers to recognize so as to administer timely interventions. This article differentiates and categorizes disorders by those occurring with descent, at depth, and with ascent (Table 1).
DISORDERS OF DESCENT
Facial Barotrauma (Mask Squeeze)
Negative pressure within the mask and over the eyes must be equalized. This is often done by exhaling through the nose. Failure to equalize leads to a negative pressure effect on the periorbital and ocular vessels, resulting in edema and subconjunctival hemorrhage.[1,2] Emergent complications are rare but may include hyphema, subperiosteal orbital hemorrhage, and intraorbital hematoma. In these cases, emergent ophthalmology consultation should be obtained as surgery or needle aspiration may be required.[3,4] However, the majority of facial barotrauma cases are benign and do not require treatment.[1,3,4]
Key Phrases: Conjunctival edema, subconjunctival hemorrhage, and petechial hemorrhage after diving.
