Fatal fat embolism following decompression sickness in an experimental dive.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Buhlmann AA
• Description:
  The case history is described of a 22 year old man decompressed in a simulated dive from 31 to 1.0 atmospheres absolute (ATA) in 63.5 hours. On decompression he suffered vertigo bends at 18.5 ATA, and in the final period the subject experienced mild pain in both knees. He was placed in intensive care but suffered cardiac arrest on the second and third days and died on the sixth day. Gross examination revealed a hemorrhage in the bone marrow of the distal third of the left femur. The hemorrhage and fat-tissue destruction in the marrow was apparently followed by a diffuse, and fatal, fat embolism.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Carcinogens Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Digestive System Digestive System Diseases Hazardous Substances Kidney Diseases Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Neoplasms Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Urogenital Diseases Urogenital System

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• Keywords:
  Blood-disorders Bone-disorders Circulatory-system-disorders Clots Decompression-sickness Divers Diving Musculoskeletal-system-disorders NIOSH-Publication Skeletal-system-disorders
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Conference/Symposia Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 6 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  83-84
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00053645
• Citation:
  Dysbarism-related osteonecrosis: proceedings of a symposium on dysbaric osteonecrosis. Beckman EL, Elliott DH, eds. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHEW (NIOSH) Publication No. 75-153, 1974 Jan; :83-84
• Editor(s):
  Beckman EL ; Elliott DH
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1974
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:356934a7ea8618017cc61b308edef9d12a5c984ab69f64b48f066a599e52257f2d0381657c31e1bd9db3cef329edaa119b77da1e35f8aa76092bba1ebd6ec488
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/178708/cdc_178708_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 291.49 KB ]