Central nervous system involvement following type I aviator's bends complicated by complacency.

A false sense of security surrounds the possibility of post-flight complications resulting from "aviator's bends." The accepted clinical clue that a patient is at risk for serious complications is the presence of some form of dysbarism at altitude. This principle has been inappropriately extended to imply that serious post-flight complications of the evolved gas syndrome only follow serious in-flight symptoms. This paper, in addition to reporting the occurrence of post-flight neurologic signs in a patient after Type I pain-only bends during an altitude chamber flight, also identifies a broader subtle complacency in the professional community that routinely deals with hypobarics.