• M Reuter, K Tetzlaff, A Hutzelmann, G Fritsch, J C Steffens, E Bettinghausen, and M Heller.
• Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Christian Albrechts University, Kiel, Germany.
• Acta Radiol. 1997 Nov 1; 38 (6): 940-4.

PurposeThis investigation was conducted to determine whether MR imaging showed cerebral or spinal damage in acute diving-related decompression illness, a term that includes decompression sickness (DCS) and arterial gas embolism (AGE).Material And MethodsA total of 16 divers with dysbaric injuries were examined after the initiation of therapeutic recompression. Their injuries comprised: neurological DCS II n = 8; AGE n = 7; combined cerebral-AGE/spinal-DCS n = 1. T1- and T2-weighted images of the brain were obtained in 2 planes. In addition, the spinal cord was imaged in 7 subjects. The imaging findings were correlated with the neurological symptoms.ResultsMR images of the head showed ischemic cerebrovascular lesions in 6/8 patients with AGE but showed focal hyperintensities in only 2/8 divers with DCS. Spinal cord involvement was detected in 1/7 examinations, which was the combined cerebral-AGE/spinal-DCS case. There was agreement between the locations of the documented lesions and the clinical manifestations.ConclusionMR readily detects cerebral damage in AGE but yields low sensitivity in DCS. A negative MR investigation cannot rule out AGE or DCS. However, MR is useful in the examination of patients with decompression illness.

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