Abstract

This study was performed to obtain an useful and basic information of the decompression sickness (DCS) among Korean divers. The medical records of 163 cases of Korean civilian diver, who were diagnosed as DES and received recompression therapy according to U.S. Navy Standard Recompression Treatment Table at Ocean & Underwater Medical Research & Training Center of ROK Navy, for 10 years from Jan. 1983 to Dec.1992. The total of 163 cases of DCS were catagorized into 2 groups as Type I DCS and Type II DGS group. The major results obtained were as follows: 1. 70.5% of total cases were classified as type II DCS, and the ratio of type I to type II DCS was 1'2.5 and the ratio of male to female of DCS cases was about 4:1. 2. About one third of cases occurred in May and June, and 38.7% of cases occurred at Chung-mu and Chin-hae in Kyung-nam province, the Southern Coast of Korean Peninsula. 3. Among the type II DGS group, 85.2% occured in diving for harpshell, and 85.2% with hookah diving gear. 4. There were no cases following the decompression procedure such as well known U.S. Navy's, and 86.7% of cases did not follow the any kinds of decompression procedure for preventing DCS and most of dives were conducted repetitively with 4.2 times on an average. 5. The mean depth between type I(27.3m) and type 11 DCS group(33.3m) showed significant difference statistically (p<0.01) , but both frequences of repetitive dives and bottom times between two groups were not statistically significant (p>0.05) . 6. The rate of symptoms appeared on surfacing and within 10 min. after surfacing of type I and type II DCS were 40.0% and 70.5%, respectively. And 80.9% of type I and 92.2% of type II DCS group were aware of dysbaric symptoms within the first hour after surfacing. 7. The most frequent symptoms and its percentages were "Both limb pain (37.6%) ",Joint pain(27.1%)., and "Scapular pain(22.9%)" in type I DCS group, and "Limb weakness or paralysis (68.7%)" , "Respiratory chokes(27.8%)" and "Bladder dysfunction(22.2%)"intypellDCSgroup. . 8. Among the type II DCS group, 54.8% attempted inwater recompression as a primary management, but 54.2% of type I DCS group did not take any kinds of therapeutic measure after onset of dysharic symptoms till commencing recompression treatment. 9. Recompression treatment was delayed 126.9 hours in type I and 89.7 hours in type II DCS group on an average, and the cases of DCS, who delayed more than two days till visiting the recompression facility, were occupied 52.1% in type I and 29.6% in type II DCS group. 10. Among the total cases, 32.6% were experienced one more of dysbaric symptoms in the past.

• Keywords: Decompression Sickness;Dysbaric Symptom