An Atypical Case of Taravana Syndrome in a Breath-Hold Underwater Fishing Champion: A Case Report

Dysbaric accidents are usually referred to compressed air-supplied diving. Nonetheless, some cases of decompression illness are known to have occurred among breath-hold (BH) divers also, and they are reported in the medical literature. A male BH diver (57 years old), underwater fishing champion, pre...

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Main Authors: Andrea Cortegiani, Grazia Foresta, Giustino Strano, Maria Teresa Strano, Francesca Montalto, Domenico Garbo, Santi Maurizio Raineri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2013-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Medicine
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/939704
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author Andrea Cortegiani
Grazia Foresta
Giustino Strano
Maria Teresa Strano
Francesca Montalto
Domenico Garbo
Santi Maurizio Raineri
author_facet Andrea Cortegiani
Grazia Foresta
Giustino Strano
Maria Teresa Strano
Francesca Montalto
Domenico Garbo
Santi Maurizio Raineri
author_sort Andrea Cortegiani
collection DOAJ
description Dysbaric accidents are usually referred to compressed air-supplied diving. Nonetheless, some cases of decompression illness are known to have occurred among breath-hold (BH) divers also, and they are reported in the medical literature. A male BH diver (57 years old), underwater fishing champion, presented neurological disorders as dizziness, sensory numbness, blurred vision, and left frontoparietal pain after many dives to a 30–35 meters sea water depth with short surface intervals. Symptoms spontaneously regressed and the patient came back home. The following morning, pain and neurological impairment occurred again and the diver went by himself to the hospital where he had a generalized tonic-clonic seizure and lost consciousness. A magnetic resonance imaging of the brain disclofsed a cortical T1-weighted hypointense area in the temporal region corresponding to infarction with partial hemorrhage. An early hyperbaric oxygen therapy led to prompt resolution of neurological findings. All clinical and imaging characteristics were referable to the Taravana diving syndrome, induced by repetitive prolonged deep BH dives. The reappearance of neurological signs after an uncommon 21-hour symptom-free interval may suggest an atypical case of Taravana syndrome.
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spelling doaj-art-76cf969966ff40bbbb5ce6443c6bd0b82025-02-03T05:58:05ZengWileyCase Reports in Medicine1687-96271687-96352013-01-01201310.1155/2013/939704939704An Atypical Case of Taravana Syndrome in a Breath-Hold Underwater Fishing Champion: A Case ReportAndrea Cortegiani0Grazia Foresta1Giustino Strano2Maria Teresa Strano3Francesca Montalto4Domenico Garbo5Santi Maurizio Raineri6Department of Biopathology and Medical and Forensic Biotechnologies (DIBIMEF), Section of Anaesthesiology, Analgesia, Emergency and Intensive Care, Policlinico “P. Giaccone,” University of Palermo, via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, ItalyDepartment of Biopathology and Medical and Forensic Biotechnologies (DIBIMEF), Section of Anaesthesiology, Analgesia, Emergency and Intensive Care, Policlinico “P. Giaccone,” University of Palermo, via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, ItalyHyperbaric Therapy Unit, ARNAS Civico, Piazzale Liotti, 4, 90127 Palermo, ItalyDepartment of Biopathology and Medical and Forensic Biotechnologies (DIBIMEF), Section of Anaesthesiology, Analgesia, Emergency and Intensive Care, Policlinico “P. Giaccone,” University of Palermo, via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, ItalyDepartment of Biopathology and Medical and Forensic Biotechnologies (DIBIMEF), Section of Anaesthesiology, Analgesia, Emergency and Intensive Care, Policlinico “P. Giaccone,” University of Palermo, via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, ItalyDepartment of Biopathology and Medical and Forensic Biotechnologies (DIBIMEF), Section of Anaesthesiology, Analgesia, Emergency and Intensive Care, Policlinico “P. Giaccone,” University of Palermo, via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, ItalyDepartment of Biopathology and Medical and Forensic Biotechnologies (DIBIMEF), Section of Anaesthesiology, Analgesia, Emergency and Intensive Care, Policlinico “P. Giaccone,” University of Palermo, via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, ItalyDysbaric accidents are usually referred to compressed air-supplied diving. Nonetheless, some cases of decompression illness are known to have occurred among breath-hold (BH) divers also, and they are reported in the medical literature. A male BH diver (57 years old), underwater fishing champion, presented neurological disorders as dizziness, sensory numbness, blurred vision, and left frontoparietal pain after many dives to a 30–35 meters sea water depth with short surface intervals. Symptoms spontaneously regressed and the patient came back home. The following morning, pain and neurological impairment occurred again and the diver went by himself to the hospital where he had a generalized tonic-clonic seizure and lost consciousness. A magnetic resonance imaging of the brain disclofsed a cortical T1-weighted hypointense area in the temporal region corresponding to infarction with partial hemorrhage. An early hyperbaric oxygen therapy led to prompt resolution of neurological findings. All clinical and imaging characteristics were referable to the Taravana diving syndrome, induced by repetitive prolonged deep BH dives. The reappearance of neurological signs after an uncommon 21-hour symptom-free interval may suggest an atypical case of Taravana syndrome.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/939704
spellingShingle Andrea Cortegiani
Grazia Foresta
Giustino Strano
Maria Teresa Strano
Francesca Montalto
Domenico Garbo
Santi Maurizio Raineri
An Atypical Case of Taravana Syndrome in a Breath-Hold Underwater Fishing Champion: A Case Report
Case Reports in Medicine
title An Atypical Case of Taravana Syndrome in a Breath-Hold Underwater Fishing Champion: A Case Report
title_full An Atypical Case of Taravana Syndrome in a Breath-Hold Underwater Fishing Champion: A Case Report
title_fullStr An Atypical Case of Taravana Syndrome in a Breath-Hold Underwater Fishing Champion: A Case Report
title_full_unstemmed An Atypical Case of Taravana Syndrome in a Breath-Hold Underwater Fishing Champion: A Case Report
title_short An Atypical Case of Taravana Syndrome in a Breath-Hold Underwater Fishing Champion: A Case Report
title_sort atypical case of taravana syndrome in a breath hold underwater fishing champion a case report
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/939704
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