Vasculitis masquerading as neurologic decompression illness.

An adult male diver developed limb pains and peripheral neurologic signs following a series of dives. He was treated for acute neurologic decompression illness (DCI) and responded well, but subsequently he deteriorated and developed features of a progressive multisystem disease. Investigation confirmed a clinical diagnosis of polyarteritis nodosa complicated by a mononeuritis multiplex. Vasculitis is uncommon and its masquerade as neurologic DCI may be unique. However, this case empha-sizes the importance of careful clinical assessment and illustrates the potentially wide differential diagnosis of DCI.