CASE REPORT

Desbaric air embolism during diving: an unusual complication of Osler-Weber-Rendu disease

Y-L Hsu¹, H-C Wang², P-C Yang²

¹ Far-Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
² National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Yeong-Long Hsu
Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, 2F, No. 25, Lane 461, Chi-Lin Road, Taipei 104, Taiwan; Hsu619{at}sinamail.com

Cerebral manifestations of Osler-Weber-Rendu disease (OWRD, hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia) including telangiectases, venous malformations, and arteriovenous malformations, are usually under-recognised. The highest complication rate is observed in high flow cerebral arteriovenous malformations, which may present with headache, epilepsy, ischaemia, or haemorrhage. Cerebral air embolism during self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (scuba) diving as the first manifestation of pulmonary arteriovenous malformation (PAVM) in OWRD patients has never been reported before. Here we report a 31 year old male who presented desbaric air embolism as the first manifestation of PAVM. As far as we know, this is the first such case published in English medical literature.

Abbreviations: OWRD, Osler-Weber-Rendu disease; PAVM, pulmonary arteriovenous malformation; scuba, self-contained underwater breathing apparatus

Keywords: desbaric air embolism; diving; Osler-Weber-Rendu disease; pulmonary arteriovenous malformation; trans-arterial embolisation

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