The formation of Kenyir Lake as part of a hydroelectric project in the 1980s caused much forest area to be submerged. From 1991, underwater divers were employed to log these sunken trees at depths of up to 100 meters. At least 6 mishaps involving underwater logging personnel were recorded from March 1994 to August 1996. We retrospectively reviewed 5 cases who were managed in Hospital Kuala Terengganu. The patients presented with marked cardiorespiratory and neurological disturbances. One diver died in the Hospital while another died at the recompression chamber. Three divers were treated with recompression and improved. Average delay before the start of recompression was 14 hours. Underwater logging has definite dangers and steps must be taken to ensure that both the divers and the equipment are appropriate for the task. Availability of a nearby recompression facility would greatly enhance the management of diving accidents, not only for commercial divers but also for recreational divers who frequent the islands nearby.
As part of a consultancy project on occupational health, the Delphi method was used to identify research priorities in occupational health in Malaysia.
Non-front-fanged colubroid snakes (NFFC; formerly and artificially taxonomically assembled as "colubrids") comprise the majority of extant ophidian species. Although the medical risks of bites by a handful of species have been documented, the majority of these snakes have oral products (Duvernoy's secretions, or venoms) with unknown biomedical properties/unverified functions and their potential for causing harm in humans is unknown.
Two cases of cerebral arterial gas embolism (CAGE) occurred after a decompression incident involving five maintenance crew during a cabin leakage system test of a Hercules C-130 aircraft. During the incident, the cabin pressure increased to 8 in Hg (203.2 mm Hg, 27 kPa) above atmospheric pressure causing intense pain in the ears of all the crew inside. The system was rapidly depressurized to ground level. After the incident, one of the crew reported chest discomfort and fatigue. The next morning, he developed a sensation of numbness in the left hand, with persistence of the earlier symptoms. A second crewmember, who only experienced earache and heaviness in the head after the incident, developed retrosternal chest discomfort, restlessness, fatigue and numbness in his left hand the next morning. Both were subsequently referred to a recompression facility 4 d after the incident. Examination by the Diving Medical Officer on duty recorded left-sided hemianesthesia and Grade II middle ear barotrauma as the only abnormalities in both cases. Chest X-rays did not reveal any extra-alveolar gas. Diagnoses of Static Neurological Decompression Illness were made and both patients recompressed on a RN 62 table. The first case recovered fully after two treatments, and the second case after one treatment. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and bubble contrast echocardiography performed on the first case 6 mo after the incident were reported to be normal. The second case was lost to follow-up. Decompression illness (DCI) generally occurs in occupational groups such as compressed air workers, divers, aviators, and astronauts. This is believed to be the first report of DCI occurring among aircraft's ground maintenance crew.