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[Correction: Subject line should read, Type II/Type A v Type I/Type B DCI.]
There seemingly has been some movement in the diving medicine/physiology community away from this distinction. Perhaps it's premature:
"Undersea Hyperb Med. 2008 Mar-Apr;35(2):91-7
Viewpoint: the type A- and the type B-variants of Decompression Sickness.
Koch AE, Wegner-Brose H, Warninghoff V, Deuschl G.
German Naval Medical Institute, Kiel-Kronshagen, Germany.
BACKGROUND: Symptoms of neurological decompression incidents (DCS/AGE) can be severe or mild. It is unknown if these differences of symptom presentation represent different clinical entities or if they represent just the spectrum of DCS/AGE.
METHODS: 267 cases with DCS/AGE were compared retrospectively and classified into two subgroups, the Type A-DCS/AGE for cases with a severe and often stroke-like symptomatology and the Type B-DCS/AGE for those with milder and sometimes even doubtful neurological symptoms. The main outcome measures were the number of hyperbaric treatments (HTs) needed and the clinical outcome.
RESULTS: 42 patients with DCS/AGE were classified as Type A- and 225 patients met the criteria for a Type B-DCS/AGE. Patients with Type A-lesions were more severely affected, needed more hyperbaric treatments and had a less favorable outcome than patients with the Type B-variant.
CONCLUSIONS: The Type A- and the Type B-DCS/AGE are likely to be different entities with better clinical outcome in the Type B-variant and possibly significant differences in the underlying pathophysiologies of both variants. Future studies with a particular focus on the up to now inadequately investigated Type B-DCS/AGE are necessary to elucidate such differences in the pathophysiology."
Regards,
DocVikingo
There seemingly has been some movement in the diving medicine/physiology community away from this distinction. Perhaps it's premature:
"Undersea Hyperb Med. 2008 Mar-Apr;35(2):91-7
Viewpoint: the type A- and the type B-variants of Decompression Sickness.
Koch AE, Wegner-Brose H, Warninghoff V, Deuschl G.
German Naval Medical Institute, Kiel-Kronshagen, Germany.
BACKGROUND: Symptoms of neurological decompression incidents (DCS/AGE) can be severe or mild. It is unknown if these differences of symptom presentation represent different clinical entities or if they represent just the spectrum of DCS/AGE.
METHODS: 267 cases with DCS/AGE were compared retrospectively and classified into two subgroups, the Type A-DCS/AGE for cases with a severe and often stroke-like symptomatology and the Type B-DCS/AGE for those with milder and sometimes even doubtful neurological symptoms. The main outcome measures were the number of hyperbaric treatments (HTs) needed and the clinical outcome.
RESULTS: 42 patients with DCS/AGE were classified as Type A- and 225 patients met the criteria for a Type B-DCS/AGE. Patients with Type A-lesions were more severely affected, needed more hyperbaric treatments and had a less favorable outcome than patients with the Type B-variant.
CONCLUSIONS: The Type A- and the Type B-DCS/AGE are likely to be different entities with better clinical outcome in the Type B-variant and possibly significant differences in the underlying pathophysiologies of both variants. Future studies with a particular focus on the up to now inadequately investigated Type B-DCS/AGE are necessary to elucidate such differences in the pathophysiology."
Regards,
DocVikingo
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