Blood gas analyser In terms of<unk>  the diagnostic workup for the affected individual would include the following: Laboratory: * Creatine kinase (CPK) level: Increases in CPK levels indicate tissue damage associated with decompression sickness. * Complete blood count (CBC) * Arterial blood gas (ABG) determination Imaging: * Chest radiography can show pneumothorax, and is indicated if there is chest discomfort or breathing difficulty * Computed tomography (CT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be indicated when there is severe headache or severe back pain after diving. * CT is the most sensitive method to evaluate for pneumothorax. It can be used where<unk> -related pneumothorax is suspected and chest radiograph findings are negative. * Echocardiography can be used to detect the number and size of gas bubbles in the right side of the heart. Ear<unk> <unk>  can affect the external, middle, or inner ear. Middle ear<unk>  (MEBT) is the most common being experienced by between 10% and 30% of divers and is due to insufficient equilibration of the middle ear. External ear<unk>  may occur on ascent if high pressure air is trapped in the external auditory canal either by tight fitting diving equipment or ear wax. Inner ear<unk>  (IEBT), though much less common than MEBT, shares a similar mechanism. Mechanical trauma to the inner ear can lead to varying degrees of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss as well as vertigo. It is also common for conditions affecting the inner ear to result in auditory hypersensitivity. Barosinusitis The sinuses similar to other air-filled cavities are susceptible to<unk>  if their openings become obstructed. This can result in pain as well as epistaxis (nosebleed). Mask squeeze If a diver's mask is not equalized during descent the relative negative pressure can produce petechial hemorrhages in the area covered by the mask along with subconjunctival hemorrhages. Helmet squeeze A problem mostly of historical interest, but still relevant to surface supplied divers who dive with the helmet sealed to the dry suit. If the air supply hose is ruptured near or above the surface, the pressure difference between the water around the diver and the air in the hose can be several bar. The non-return valve at the connection to the helmet will prevent backflow if it is working correctly, but if absent, as in the early days of helmet diving, or if it fails, the pressure difference will tend to squeeze the diver into the rigid helmet, which can result in severe trauma. The same effect can result from a large and rapid increase in depth if the air supply is insufficient to keep up with the increase in ambient pressure. Pulmonary<unk>  Lung over-pressure injury in ambient pressure divers using underwater breathing apparatus is usually caused by breath-holding on ascent. The compressed gas in the lungs expands as the ambient pressure decreases causing the lungs to over-expand and rupture unless the diver allows the gas to escape by maintaining an open airway, as in normal breathing. The lungs do not sense pain when over-expanded giving the diver little warning to prevent the injury. This does not affect breath-hold divers as they bring a lungful of air with them from the surface, which merely re-expands safely to near its original volume on ascent. The problem only arises if a breath of ambient pressure gas is taken at depth, which may then expand on ascent to more than the lung volume. Pulmonary<unk>  may also be caused by explosive decompression of a pressurised aircraft, as occurred on 1 February 2003 to the crew in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
Barotrauma
Blast injury
Polytrauma
Rheotrauma
Penetrating trauma
Microtrauma
Trauma
Blunt trauma