Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Side Effects – Where Do We Stand?

Abstract: I recently had the opportunity to present this topic at the ACCWS 7th Annual Symposium. The following is a synopsis of that presentation. We use hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for a variety of both elective and emergent indications. It is always important...

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Effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on chronic neurocognitive deficits of post-traumatic brain injury patients: retrospective analysis.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in participants suffering from chronic neurological deficits due to traumatic brain injury (TBI) of all severities in the largest cohort evaluated so far with objective cognitive function tests and metabolic brain imaging. A retrospective analysis was conducted of 154 patients suffering from chronic neurocognitive damage due to TBI, who had undergone computerised cognitive evaluations pre-HBOT and post-HBOT treatment. The average age was 42.7-14.6 years, and 58.4% were men. All patients had documented TBI 0.3-33 years (mean 4.6-5.8, median 2.75 years) prior to HBOT. HBOT was associated with significant improvement in all of the cognitive domains, with a mean change in global cognitive scores of 4.6-8.5 (p<0.00001).

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Malnutrition screening in outpatients receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy: an opportunity for improvement?

Outpatients who receive hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) may represent a group at significant risk of malnutrition owing to the underlying conditions that are often treated with HBOT (e.g., non-healing diabetic wounds and radiation-induced skin injury). In this issue, See and colleagues provide new, preliminary evidence of the prevalence of malnutrition in a small group of HBOT outpatients treated in an Australian hospital, reporting that approximately one-third of patients receiving HBOT were at risk of malnutrition. To our knowledge, routine malnutrition screening is not available in HBOT centres providing outpatient treatment, which may be a key gap in the nutrition care of these patients. Malnutrition screening was developed to identify those at risk of malnutrition across the healthcare continuum.

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Long-term outcomes of interventions for radiation-induced xerostomia: A review.

Xerostomia, or dry mouth, is a significant problem affecting quality of life in patients treated with radiation therapy for head and neck cancer. Strategies for reduction of xerostomia burden vary widely, with options including: sialagogue medications, saliva substitutes, acupuncture, vitamins, hyperbaric oxygen, submandibular gland transfer, and acupuncture or associated treatments. In this review, we sought to evaluate long-term outcomes of patients treated with various interventions for radiation-induced xerostomia. A literature search was performed using the terms “xerostomia” and “radiation” or “radiotherapy”; all prospective clinical trials were evaluated, and only studies that reported 1 year follow up were included.

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