IngentaConnect Hand Discomfort Following Heliox Chamber Dives

Authors: Benton, Peter J.; Anthony, Gavin

Source: Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, Volume 74, Number 10, October 2003 , pp. 1101-1104(4)

Publisher: Aerospace Medical Association

Abstract:

Benton PJ, Anthony TG. Hand discomfort following heliox chamber dives. Aviat Space Environ Med 2003; 74:1101-4.

During a series of dry chamber dives using compressed heliox, five attendants and one wet diver experienced eight episodes of hand discomfort, the character of which was atypical of limb pain during decompression sickness. Although immersed for most of the dive, during the compression and decompression phases, the wet diver's hands were out of the water and hence exposed to the helium-containing chamber atmosphere. In all cases, symptoms resolved within a maximum of 48 h. There was no response to hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the three cases that presented before spontaneous resolution. While the attendants wore dry suits to minimize skin absorption of helium, their hands were exposed to the heliox atmosphere. After the first six cases of hand symptoms, a dry glove assembly was added to prevent helium absorption through the exposed hand. Two cases of hand discomfort occurred following the addition of the dry glove assembly to the dry suit. In both cases, the symptoms were less severe and resolved over a significantly shorter time period. Adoption of the dry gloves resulted in the incidence of hand discomfort among attendants falling from 25% (5/20) to 2.4% (2/84) (p = 0.005). Possible mechanisms of causation of this hand discomfort, thought to be the result of local tissue absorption of helium, are discussed.