Todnem K, Nyland H, Skeidsvoll H, Svihus R, Rinck P, Kambestad B K, Riise T, Aarli J A
Norwegian Underwater Technology Centre, Bergen.
Br J Ind Med. 1991 Apr;48(4):258-66. doi: 10.1136/oem.48.4.258.
Forty commercial saturation divers, mean age 34.9 (range 24-49) years, were examined one to seven years after their last deep dive (190-500 metres of seawater). Four had by then lost their divers' licence because of neurological problems. Twenty seven (68%) had been selected by neurological examination and electroencephalography before the deep dives. The control group consisted of 100 men, mean age 34.0 (range 22-48) years. The divers reported significantly more symptoms from the nervous system. Concentration difficulties and paraesthesia in feet and hands were common. They had more abnormal neurological findings by neurological examination compatible with dysfunction in the lumbar spinal cord or roots. They also had a larger proportion of abnormal electroencephalograms than the controls. The neurological symptoms and findings were highly significantly correlated with exposure to deep diving (depth included), but even more significantly correlated to air and saturation diving and prevalence of decompression sickness. Visual evoked potentials, brainstem auditory evoked potentials, and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain did not show more abnormal findings in the divers. Four (10%) divers had had episodes of cerebral dysfunction during or after the dives; two had had seizures, one had had transitory cerebral ischaemia and one had had transitory global amnesia. It is concluded that deep diving may have a long term effect on the nervous system of the divers.
40名职业饱和潜水员，平均年龄34.9岁（范围24 - 49岁），在其最后一次深度潜水（190 - 500米海水深度）后的1至7年接受了检查。到那时，有4人由于神经问题失去了潜水执照。27人（68%）在深度潜水前通过神经检查和脑电图检查被挑选出来。对照组由100名男性组成，平均年龄34.0岁（范围22 - 48岁）。潜水员报告的神经系统症状明显更多。注意力难以集中以及手脚感觉异常很常见。通过神经检查，他们有更多与腰脊髓或神经根功能障碍相符的异常神经学发现。他们脑电图异常的比例也高于对照组。神经症状和发现与深度潜水暴露（包括深度）高度显著相关，但与空气潜水、饱和潜水以及减压病患病率的相关性甚至更强。潜水员的视觉诱发电位、脑干听觉诱发电位和脑部磁共振成像未显示出更多异常发现。4名（10%）潜水员在潜水期间或之后出现过脑功能障碍发作；2人曾发生癫痫，1人曾发生短暂性脑缺血，1人曾发生短暂性全面性遗忘。结论是深度潜水可能对潜水员的神经系统有长期影响。
