| Sponge divers of the Aegean and medical consequences of risky compressed-air dive profiles. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 19378916 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
Historically, Turkey once had a substantial number of professional sponge divers, a population known for a relatively high incidence of diving-related conditions such as decompression sickness (DCS) and dysbaric osteonecrosis (DON). Sponge diving ended in the mid-1980s when nearly all of the sponges in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas contracted a bacterial disease and the occupation became unprofitable. We reviewed the records of Turkish sponge divers for information on their level of knowledge, diving equipment, dive profiles, and occupational health problems. Information was collected by: 1) interviewing former sponge divers near Bodrum, where most of them had settled; 2) reviewing the relevant literature; and 3) examining the medical records of sponge divers who underwent recompression treatment. These divers used three types of surface-supplied equipment, including hard helmets, Fernez apparatus, and hookahs; the latter were preferred because they allowed divers the greatest freedom of movement while harvesting sponges underwater. These divers used profiles that we now know involved a high risk for DCS and DON. We were able to access the records of 58 divers who had received recompression treatment. All of the cases involved severe DCS and delays from dive to recompression that averaged 72 h. Complete resolution of symptoms occurred in only 11 cases (19%). Thus, we were able to document the several factors that contributed to the risks in this occupational group, including unsafe dive profiles, resistance to seeking treatment, long delays before recompression, and the fact that recompression treatment used air rather than oxygen. |
| | |
Authors:
|
Akin Savas Toklu; Maide Cimsit |
Related Documents
:
|
2053716 - Nosocomial legionnaires' disease: lessons from a four-year prospective study. 20566816 - Voice recognition software: effect on radiology report turnaround time at an academic m... 20338936 - Dutch experience of monitoring active ending of life for newborns. 23147546 - Chronic myeloid leukemia as a secondary malignancy after lymphoma in a child. a case re... 15671636 - Paralysis and blindness during a balloon ascent to high altitude. 11192466 - Mephenytoin overdose--phenytoin poisoning incognito? case report and mephenytoin/phenyt... |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: Aviation, space, and environmental medicine Volume: 80 ISSN: 0095-6562 ISO Abbreviation: Aviat Space Environ Med Publication Date: 2009 Apr |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2009-04-21 Completed Date: 2009-06-02 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 7501714 Medline TA: Aviat Space Environ Med Country: United States |
Other Details:
|
Languages: eng Pagination: 414-7 Citation Subset: IM; S |
Affiliation:
|
Department of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey. akin@toklu.net |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
Adolescent Adult Cohort Studies Decompression Sickness / epidemiology*, physiopathology Diving / adverse effects* Humans Middle Aged Occupational Diseases / epidemiology*, physiopathology Osteonecrosis / epidemiology*, physiopathology Prevalence Turkey / epidemiology Young Adult |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: Visual display angles of conventional and a remotely piloted aircraft.
Next Document: Type of cell death and the role of acetylcholinesterase activity in neurotoxicity induced by paraoxo...