Pulmonary oxygen toxicity breath markers after heliox diving to 81 metres

This study examined VOCs after exposures to 81 metres of seawater by three navy divers during operational heliox diving. Univariate testing did not yield significant results. However, targeted multivariate analysis of POT-associated VOCs identified significant (P = 0.004) changes of dodecane, tetradecane, octane, methylcyclohexane, and butyl acetate during the 4 h post-dive sampling period. No airway symptoms or discomfort were reported. This study demonstrates that breath sampling can be performed in the field, and VOCs indicative of oxygen toxicity are exhaled without clinical symptoms of POT, strengthening the belief that POT develops on a subclinical-to-symptomatic spectrum. However, this study was performed during an actual diving operation and therefore various confounders were introduced, which were excluded in previous laboratory studies. Future studies could focus on optimising sampling protocols for field use to ensure uniformity and reproducibility, and on establishing dose-response relationships.PMID:38091594 | PMC:PMC10944665 | DOI:10.28920/dhm53.4.340-344
Source: Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine - Category: Sports Medicine Authors: Source Type: research