Valsalva maculopathy in a medical employee working in the chamber makulopatia – A case raport

• Main Authors: Tatiana Dziedzic, Krystyna Kostyra, Joanna Kowalska-Jackiewicz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine 2013-06-01
• Series: Medycyna Pracy
• Subjects: Valsalva maneuver; retinal hemorrhage; decompression sickness; barotrauma; occupational diseases
• Online Access: http://medpr.imp.lodz.pl/Makulopatia-valsalvy-u-pracownika-medycznego-wykonujacego-prace-w-komorze-hiperbarycznej-opis-przypadku,455,0,2.html

We discuss the influence of increased pressure (compression and decompression in the hyperbaric chamber) on the human body, in particular the organ of vision. An extraordinary, quite rare case of painless loss of vision connected with retinal hemorrhage, followed by scarring in the person who performed the Valsalva maneuver working inside the hyperbaric chamber. The lesion was determined with high probability as a cause of Valsalva maculopathy. At the request of the patient, the case was analyzed about six years after the onset of the disease in terms of the presence or absence of the ground for certifying it as an occupational disease of the eye. Med Pr 2013;64(3):455–459