摘要
動脈氣體栓塞症，是指氣體進入肺靜脈或直接進入體動脈循環所產生的疾病。發生的原因，大部分與潛水事故所造成的傷害有關；少部分則是因爲醫源性的處置併發而成的。動脈氣體栓塞症的主要致病機轉，是氣泡阻塞在末端動脈，導致組織缺氧和缺血。次要的致病機轉，是血管內氣泡所產生的次發性作用。也就是，在氣體和血液交接處，所引發的各種炎性和生化反應。動脈氣體栓塞症的診斷，主要取決於病史。也就是，發病前應該有會導致動脈氣體栓塞症的危險事件或處置，以及症狀或病徵需與疾病的進程相吻合。最後，在高壓艙內接受再加壓治療時，相關的症狀或病徵會得到明顯的改善，也是診斷動脈氣體栓塞症重要的參考依據。動脈氣體栓塞症的主要治療是再加壓治療。利用較大的環境壓力，將氣泡壓縮到儘可能的小。使氣體能經由肺部呼出體外。此外，治療中使用的氧氣，也可以加速惰性氣體的排除，和修復因爲缺氧而受損的組織。其他的治療，如輸液的補充和抗抽搐藥物的使用等，也應該考慮使用。
並列摘要
Arterial gas embolism is defined as the entrance of gas to the pulmonary vein or directly to the systemic artery. The causes of arterial gas embolism are mainly from dive-related accidents and less frequently from iatrogenic complications. The main pathogenesis of arterial gas embolism is the obstructive effect of gas bubble in the end artery leading to tissue hypoxia and ischemia. The associated pathogenesis is the secondary effect of gas blood interface leading to various inflammatory and biochemical cascades. The diagnosis of arterial gas embolism depends mainly on the medical history. There should be a risky event preceeding to the compatible symptoms or signs of arterial gas embolism. A significantly positive response to the recompression therapy could also help the establishment of diagnosis. The main treatment of arterial gas embolism is the recompression therapy in a hyperbaric chamber. The gas bubble is compressed to a very small size allowing it to exhale through the lung. Oxygen is added to help the gas expelling rate and the healing of hypoxic and injured tissue. Other treatments such as fluid supplement and the anti-convulsive agent should be considered.