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Survival following accidental decompression to an altitude greater than 74,000 feet (22,555 m).

Gary L. Kolesari,Eric P. Kindwall-1982-12-01-PubMed
12

TL;DRAbstract

A man was accidentally decompressed to an altitude greater than 22,555 m (74,000 ft) in an industrial vacuum chamber. He experienced burst lung, massive decompression sickness, and sustained ebulism. He remained at altitude for a period of 3-5 min. By 5.5 h following the accident, he was still profoundly unconscious. He was subsequently treated in a hyperbaric chamber with recompression on a modified U.S. Navy Table 6A and had eventual clinical recovery. The CPK peaked at 8000 units 2 d after the accident, demonstrating substantial barotrauma to the tissues.

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A man was accidentally decompressed to an altitude greater than 22,555 m (74,000 ft) in an industrial vacuum chamber. He experienced burst lung, massive decompression sickness, and sustained ebulism. He remained at altitude for a period of 3-5 min. By 5.5 h following the accident, he was still profoundly unconscious. He was subsequently treated in a hyperbaric chamber with recompression on a modified U.S. Navy Table 6A and had eventual clinical recovery. The CPK peaked at 8000 units 2 d after the accident, demonstrating substantial barotrauma to the tissues.

Keywords

Decompression sicknessDecompressionAltitude (triangle)Decompression illnessAccidentalEffects of high altitude on humansMedicineSurgery

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