Cargando…

Arterial Blood Gas Analysis in Breath-Hold Divers at Depth

The present study aimed to evaluate the partial pressure of arterial blood gases in breath-hold divers performing a submersion at 40 m. Eight breath-hold divers were enrolled for the trials held at “Y-40 THE DEEP JOY” pool (Montegrotto Terme, Padova, Italy). Prior to submersion, an arterial cannula...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Bosco, Gerardo, Rizzato, Alex, Martani, Luca, Schiavo, Simone, Talamonti, Ennio, Garetto, Giacomo, Paganini, Matteo, Camporesi, Enrico M., Moon, Richard E.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6230561/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30455649
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.01558
Descripción
Sumario:The present study aimed to evaluate the partial pressure of arterial blood gases in breath-hold divers performing a submersion at 40 m. Eight breath-hold divers were enrolled for the trials held at “Y-40 THE DEEP JOY” pool (Montegrotto Terme, Padova, Italy). Prior to submersion, an arterial cannula in the radial artery of the non-dominant limb was positioned. All divers performed a sled-assisted breath-hold dive to 40 m. Three blood samplings occurred: at 10 min prior to submersion, at 40 m depth, and within 2 min after diver’s surfacing and after resuming normal ventilation. Blood samples were analyzed immediately on site. Six subjects completed the experiment, without diving-related problems. The theoretically predicted hyperoxia at the bottom was observed in 4 divers out of 6, while the other 2 experienced a reduction in the partial pressure of oxygen (paO(2)) at the bottom. There were no significant increases in arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (paCO(2)) at the end of descent in 4 of 6 divers, while in 2 divers paCO(2) decreased. Arterial mean pH and mean bicarbonate ([Formula: see text]) levels exhibited minor changes. There was a statistically significant increase in mean arterial lactate level after the exercise. Ours was the first attempt to verify real changes in blood gases at a depth of 40 m during a breath-hold descent in free-divers. We demonstrated that, at depth, relative hypoxemia can occur, presumably caused by lung compression. Also, hypercapnia exists at depth, to a lesser degree than would be expected from calculations, presumably because of pre-dive hyperventilation and carbon dioxide distribution in blood and tissues.