Payor Austin Daniel, Tucci Veronica
Largo Medical Center, Department of General Surgery, Largo Medical Center General Surgery Residency Program, Largo Medical Center- Indian Rocks Campus, 2025 Indian Rocks Road, Largo, FL 33774, USA.
Int J Crit Illn Inj Sci. 2011 Jan;1(1):73-8. doi: 10.4103/2229-5151.79286.
Ischemic colitis (IC) secondary to air embolism from decompression sickness or barotrauma during diving is an extremely rare condition. After extensive review of the available literature, we found that there has been only one reported case of IC secondary to air embolism from diving. Although air embolization from diving and the various medical complications that follow have been well documented, the clinical manifestation of IC from an air embolism during diving is very rare and thus far unstudied. Common symptoms of IC include abdominal pain, bloody or non-bloody diarrhea or nausea or vomiting or any combination. Emergency physicians and Critical Care specialists should consider IC as a potential diagnosis for a patient with the above-mentioned symptoms and a history of recent diving. We report a case of IC from air embolism after a routine dive to 75 feet below sea level in a 53-year-old White female who presented to a community Emergency Department complaining of a 2-day history of diffuse abdominal pain and nausea. She was diagnosed by colonoscopy with biopsies and treated conservatively with antibiotics, bowel rest, and a slow advancement in diet.
潜水期间因减压病或气压伤导致空气栓塞继发的缺血性结肠炎（IC）是一种极为罕见的病症。在广泛查阅现有文献后，我们发现仅有一例潜水导致空气栓塞继发缺血性结肠炎的报告病例。尽管潜水导致空气栓塞及随后出现的各种医学并发症已有充分记录，但潜水期间空气栓塞所致缺血性结肠炎的临床表现非常罕见，迄今为止尚未得到研究。缺血性结肠炎的常见症状包括腹痛、血性或非血性腹泻、恶心、呕吐或上述症状的任意组合。急诊医生和重症监护专家应将缺血性结肠炎视为具有上述症状且近期有潜水史患者的潜在诊断。我们报告一例53岁白人女性在常规潜水至海平面以下75英尺后因空气栓塞导致缺血性结肠炎的病例，该患者前往社区急诊科就诊，主诉有2天弥漫性腹痛和恶心病史。她通过结肠镜检查及活检确诊，并接受了抗生素、肠道休息和逐步恢复饮食的保守治疗。
