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Hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves intermittent inhalation of 100% oxygen under a pressure greater than 1 atm. Despite over a century of use in medical settings, hyperbaric oxygen remains a controversial therapy. The last 20 years have seen a clarification of the mechanism of action of hyperbaric therapy and a greater understanding of its potential benefit. However, despite the substantial evidence that hyperbaric oxygen may have a therapeutic effect in certain carefully defined disease states, many practitioners remain unaware of these findings or are concerned about using hyperbaric therapy because of the controversy it has engendered. This review examines the indications currently considered appropriate for hyperbaric oxygen and briefly evaluates animal and clinical data substantiating these indications. Areas in which the mechanism of action of hyperbaric oxygen is still not well understood, as well as possible new areas of applications, are discussed.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Fundamentals of hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) is an adjunctive treatment used for wound healing. HBO treatments are given by increasing the atmospheric pressure in a chamber while the patient is breathing 100% oxygen. Many orthopaedic disease entities can benefit from HBO therapy. For the orthopaedic nurse to recognize potential HBO patients, a basic understanding of HBO therapy is necessary. Knowledge of diseases that can be treated with HBO, the side effects of HBO, and educating a patient for HBO therapy are all important aspects of hyperbaric therapy.

Humans

Reduction of rattlesnake-venom-induced myonecrosis in mice by hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) at 1, 2, and 2.75 atmospheres absolute (ATA) was used to treat rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) venom-induced tissue damage and edema in thigh muscles of mice. Tissue damage was evaluated by double-blind histopathologic examination: tissue edema was determined by measuring tissue water content. A total of 10 intermittent exposures to oxygen over a period of 4 days at 2 and 2.75 ATA did not influence the resolution of venom-induced tissue edema, whereas tissue damage was significantly ameliorated as compared to air-treated envenomated controls. HBOT also promoted healing in the venom-injected mice as evidenced by the presence of regenerating muscle cells. It is concluded that HBOT may limit rattlesnake venom-induced myonecrosis and promote healing in a dose-response relationship without reducing venom-induced edema.

Animals

Efficient oxygen mask for patients undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) is established therapy for various disorders, but its effectiveness depends on the efficiency of the oxygen delivery system. A mask oxygen delivery system, consisting of the standard USAF aviator's A-14 regulator and the MBU-5/P oxygen mask, is installed in all USAF hyperbaric chambers. The efficiency of the mask oxygen delivery system at the USAF Hyperbaric Center, Brooks AFB, Tx, was evaluated breath-by-breath at sea level and 2.4 ATA via two different measuring techniques. Three groups of subjects were evaluated. Four subjects in Group I and seven subjects in Group II were randomly selected to use a single instrumented mask which was improperly fitted. The result was variable inspired oxygen levels from 64% to 100%. Six subjects in Group III wore properly fitted masks and achieved end-inspired oxygen levels ranging from 96% to 99%, for a mean of 97.8 +/- 0.5 (S.E.)%. A mean end-inspired oxygen level of 88,5 +/- 3,5 (S.E.)% was achieved within 5 min of mask donning. Inspiratory gas analyses indicate that the USAF aviator MBU-5/P mask and the A-14 regulator as used at the USAF Hyperbaric Center constitute a highly efficient oxygen delivery system for HBO therapy. This view has been refleced in arterial blood gas measurements and in preliminary data from tissue oxygen measurements in a gas gangrene patient. Future improvements in patient therapy masks are recommended.

Air

Bacterial osteomyelitis. Adjunctive hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Mechanistically, hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) appears useful for the treatment of osteomyelitis. HBO increases the oxygen tension in infected tissue, including bone. An adequate oxygen tension is necessary for oxygen-dependent killing of organisms by polymorphonuclear leukocytes, and for fibroblast activity leading to angiogenesis and wound healing. In addition, HBO augments the killing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by the aminoglycoside tobramycin. At the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, adjunctive HBO is used for Cierny-Mader stage 3B and 4B osteomyelitis.

Bacterial Infections

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy and its role in the treatment of chronic osteomyelitis: a preliminary report involving refractory osteomyelitis in the foot.

Osteomyelitis, both acute and chronic, is difficult to treat and often does not respond to conventional methods of therapy. Hyperbaric oxygen can be used as an adjunctive treatment in chronic refractory osteomyelitis after all other types of therapy have proved unsuccessful or response is slow. Risk factors and cost must be considered when deciding whether to use hyperbaric oxygen in conjunction with other methods of therapy.

Chronic Disease

Uses of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the 1990s.

Hyperbaric oxygen can produce a variety of effects in addition to reducing air and gas embolism. It increases the killing ability of leukocytes and is lethal to certain anaerobic bacteria. It inhibits toxin formation by certain anaerobes, increases the flexibility of red cells, reduces tissue edema, preserves intracellular adenosine triphosphate, maintains tissue oxygenation in the absence of hemoglobin. In addition, it stimulates fibroblast growth, increases collagen formation, promotes more rapid growth of capillaries, and terminates lipid peroxidation. These actions of hyperbaric oxygen are useful in treating anaerobic infections that result in gas gangrene, as well as severe aerobic infections such as necrotizing fasciitis, malignant external otitis, and chronic refractory osteomyelitis. Hyperbaric oxygen can help preserve ischemic tissues and facilitates the rapid spread and arborization of new capillaries. It promotes healing in certain problem wounds. Adjunctive hyperbaric oxygen treatment is a new approach to the management of radionecrosis. Hyperbaric oxygen treatment reduces morbidity and mortality resulting from carbon monoxide poisoning. Protocols for hyperbaric oxygen therapy are at present mostly empirical; much additional research is needed to better define therapeutic indications.

Animals

Beneficial effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in Nocardia brasiliensis soft-tissue infection.

OBJECTIVE: To report the success of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the treatment of Nocardia brasiliensis mycetoma. We believe this to be only the second report in the medical literature of hyperbaric oxygen therapy used in the therapy of nocardial disease. CLINICAL FEATURES: A 78-year-old man presented to a general hospital outpatient clinic after eight months with a painless swollen left foot. There was no significant medical history, no trauma had occurred, and no foreign body had been detected. The dorsum of the foot had a discharging sinus, from which N. brasiliensis was isolated. INTERVENTIONS: After unsuccessful treatment with surgical debridement and high-dose antibiotic therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy was administered in a multiplace recompression chamber (one hour of treatment at 1.8 atmospheres absolute followed by a 30 minute "ascent" to surface pressure). A total of 19 treatments were administered. OUTCOME: Successful healing of an N. brasiliensis mycetoma of the left foot. CONCLUSION: In this case of N. brasiliensis mycetoma involving the lower extremity, the conventional management of surgery and antibiotic therapy was unsuccessful, and only with the addition of hyperbaric oxygen therapy did clinical recovery occur.

Aged

Perceptions and utilization of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for carbon monoxide poisoning in an academic setting.

The routine use of hyperbaric oxygen as therapy for carbon monoxide intoxication is being critically reexamined nationally. There are no controlled prospective clinical studies that show this modality to clearly be superior to the more traditional use of high concentrations of supplemental oxygen. Proponents of hyperbaric therapy often claim that such studies would now be unethical, would violate the accepted standard of care for this medical emergency, and would place the treating physician in an indefensible medical-legal position. In an attempt to determine the status of hyperbaric oxygen in our community as treatment for significant carbon monoxide exposure, we surveyed physicians practicing at the university regional trauma center to determine their perception of the indications for hyperbaric oxygen therapy for carbon monoxide poisoning. We then audited the medical records of all patients treated during a four-year period with the diagnosis of carbon monoxide poisoning or smoke inhalation to determine the actual utilization of this therapeutic modality. The results of our study indicate that hyperbaric referral is not the standard treatment for significant carbon monoxide intoxication in this academic setting.

Academic Medical Centers

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for acute smoke inhalation injuries.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is an important adjunct in the management of respiratory injuries secondary to smoke inhalation, especially when injury is complicated by inhalation of a toxic chemical such as carbon monoxide or cyanide. For carbon monoxide poisoning, such therapy has become a standard of practice. As more information becomes available concerning the ability of hyperbaric oxygen to reduce reperfusion injuries, we anticipate that this therapy will become a standard of practice for managing smoke inhalation injuries and cyanide poisoning as well.

Antidotes

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in diabetic foot.

To study the effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in chronic diabetic foot lesions, a prospective controlled study was undertaken. Thirty diabetics with chronic foot lesions were randomised to study group (conventional management and 4 sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy) and control group (conventional management). The patients were assessed for average hospital stay, control of infection and wound healing. The control of infection spread was quicker. Positive cultures decreased from initial 19 to 3 in study group as against from 16 to 12 in the control group. (p < 0.05). This difference was most pronounced for Escherichia coli. Also, the need for major amputation was significantly less in the study group (n = 2) as against the control group (n = 7) (p < 0.05). The average hospital stay was not affected. We conclude that hyperbaric oxygen therapy can be safely used and is beneficial as an adjuvant therapy in chronic diabetic foot lesions.

Aged

The influence of intensive hyperbaric oxygen therapy on skin flap survival in a swine model.

Conflicting reports exist regarding the influence of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on random skin flap survival. The present investigation sought to demonstrate enhanced survival of experimental random skin flaps in swine using an intensive and tapering hyperbaric oxygen therapy regimen that would have direct application in human clinical trials. Random cutaneous flaps were surgically constructed on 12 domestic pigs. Flaps were designed to obtain a predictable length of necrosis. Six pigs did not undergo hyperbaric oxygen therapy and served as surgical controls. Six pigs were subjected to an intensive tapering hyperbaric regimen within 1.5 hours of completing the surgical procedure. Treatments were administered in a research hyperbaric vessel at a depth of 2.0 atm absolute (10 m of seawater) for 90 minutes of oxygen treatment in a tapering schedule over 6 days. This was structured to provide intensive therapy initially during the period of maximum tissue trauma and ischemia. Extent of flap necrosis was assessed by tracing clear plastic templates at necropsy, then converting to square centimeters using a computer digitizer tablet. The difference in flap necrosis between groups was significant, with random flaps subjected to hyperbaric oxygen therapy demonstrating a mean 35% less necrosis than surgical controls. Skin flaps treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy demonstrated a mean survival of 77%, with a range of 56% to 100%. This reflected a 12% improvement in mean surviving area for hyperbaric oxygen therapy flaps over untreated surgical controls. We are unaware of similar studies reporting a comparable degree of enhancement in random skin flap survival using hyperbaric oxygen therapy alone. Adjunctive hyperbaric oxygen therapy in an intensive tapering schedule significantly improved flap survival in this model. Further investigations need to determine the optimum frequency of treatments and depth necessary to attain maximum tissue viability.

Animals

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy--nursing opportunity.

Hyperbaric nursing is a challenging new role for critical care nurses. The authors discuss this expanding career opportunity along with the science of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy, clinical uses, types of chambers, and steps toward developing this exciting nursing career.

Atmospheric Pressure

Barotrauma and air embolism in hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

A 69-year-old woman underwent hyperbaric oxygen therapy because of a nonhealing ulcer of her foot. During decompression, she developed a left-sided hemiplegia and confusion. Recompression resulted in transient neurologic improvement, but she eventually became comatose. Ventricular dysrhythmias developed and she died without regaining consciousness 17 h after onset of symptoms. An autopsy revealed diffuse interstitial pulmonary fibrosis with severe paracicatricial emphysema, chronic interstitial inflammation, and chronic bronchitis with abundant intrabronchial mucus. There was extensive multifocal ischemic injury of the cerebral cortex. The hippocampi, basal ganglia, and cerebellum were spared. Scattered acute myofiber necrosis was present in the heart. Clinical presentation and autopsy findings strongly support the diagnosis of air embolism and illustrate a potential risk of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in patients with preexisting pulmonary disease.

Aged

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy accelerates neurologic recovery after 15-minute complete global cerebral ischemia in dogs.

BACKGROUND AND METHODS: Although hyperbaric oxygen therapy is clinically used for the treatment of several types of ischemic brain injury, few basic animal studies are available that provide a rationale for this therapy for complete global brain ischemia. Therefore, we investigated the effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on neurologic recovery after 15-min complete global cerebral ischemia in a canine model. Complete global ischemia was induced in 19 dogs by occlusion of the ascending aorta and the caval veins. Nine dogs were randomized to treatment with hyperbaric oxygenation (3 atmospheres absolute, 100% oxygen for 1 hr) at 3, 24, and 29 hrs after ischemia under spontaneous respiration, while the other ten dogs served as the control group without hyperbaric oxygen therapy (group C). Neurologic recovery was evaluated based on the electroencephalogram (EEG) activity score (1 = normal; 5 = isoelectric) and the neurologic recovery score (100 = normal; 0 = brain death) over a 14-day postischemic period. RESULTS: The survival rates were 3/10 (30%) in the control group vs. 7/9 (78%) in the group treated with hyperbaric oxygen (p < .05). Over the 14-day postischemic period, the best (lowest) EEG scores of each dog were significantly (1.7 +/- 0.2 vs. 2.9 +/- 0.3; mean +/- SE, p < .01) lower in the hyperbaric oxygen-treated group. The best neurologic recovery scores of each dog were significantly (69 +/- 6 vs. 48 +/- 5; mean +/- SE, p < .05) higher in the treated animals. The number of dogs that recovered to a neurologic recovery score of > 65 (assessed as a slight disability) were 1/10 in the control group and 6/9 in the group treated with hyperbaric oxygen (p < .02). CONCLUSIONS: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy performed in the early postischemic period accelerated neurologic recovery and improved the survival rate in dogs after 15-mins of complete global cerebral ischemia.

Animals

Expanding the limits of composite grafting: a case report of successful nose replantation assisted by hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

A successful nose replantation assisted by hyperbaric oxygen therapy is presented, with a brief discussion of the possible mechanisms and a brief literature review of the use of hyperbaric oxygen in tissue preservation and replantation. Although it is not certain that the hyperbaric oxygenation ensured the survival of the replanted nose in this 2-year-old girl, there was documented change in graft appearance during the initial hyperbaric oxygen treatment. A 1-month, 1-year, and 2-year follow-up is included.

Child, Preschool

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for acute acoustic trauma.

We conducted a study on the effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on 122 soldiers following acute acoustic trauma. The patients included in this study, after the effect of spontaneous recovery had largely been excluded, were randomly allocated to four treatment groups. The results of our studies show that hyperbaric oxygen therapy shortens the course of healing with respect to high-pitch perception dysacusis. The results of treatment after an observation period of 6 weeks is also more favorable when patients are treated with oxygen when compared to patients given infusions or vasoactive substances. Similarly, the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy also reduces the frequency of relapse following discharge from hospital. In contrast, the vasoactive substance chosen in our studies (betahistine) failed to have a favorable effect on the course of healing. Our study has also shown that no method can compare with hyperbaric therapy in eliminating tinnitus following acoustic trauma.

Adult