Retrospective Study Aviation, space, and environmental medicine 2011

Neurological altitude decompression sickness among U-2 pilots: 2002-2009.

Jersey SL, Hundemer GL, Stuart RP, West KN, Michaelson RS, Pilmanis AA — Aviation, space, and environmental medicine, 2011

View Original on PubMed PMID 21748904

Tier 2, Indexed

Automatically imported from PubMed based on relevance criteria.

Summary

What Researchers Did

Researchers retrospectively examined all neurological altitude decompression sickness (DCS) cases among U-2 pilots between 2002 and 2009.

What They Found

During 2002-2009, there were 16 confirmed incidents of central nervous system (CNS) decompression sickness (DCS) involving 13 U-2 pilots, plus 4 possible incidents. Twelve of these 16 confirmed incidents, including 4 of 5 life-threatening cases, occurred at a single operating location. In 11 cases, symptoms were recognised well after 4 hours, and neuropsychiatric symptoms persisted for years in six pilots.

Canadian Relevance

This study specifically examines U.S. Air Force U-2 pilots and does not have a direct Canadian connection.

Study Limitations

The study was limited by its reliance on existing, often incomplete data sources due to the urgency of the investigation.

This plain-language summary is generated with AI assistance and checked against the source abstract before publication. See our editorial policy.

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Study Details

Study Type	Retrospective Study
Category	Neurological
Source	Pubmed
PubMed ID	21748904
Year Published	2011
Journal	Aviation, space, and environmental medicine
MeSH Terms	Adult; Aerospace Medicine; Decompression Sickness; Humans; Male; Retrospective Studies; United States

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Last reviewed: April 2, 2026 | Reviewed by: Canada Hyperbarics Editorial Team | Editorial process | Research sources | Counts & methodology