Compelling evidence suggests the advantage of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in traumatic brain injury. The present meta-analysis evaluated the outcomes of HBOT in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Prospective studies comparing hyperbaric oxygen therapy vs. control in patients with mild (GCS 13-15) to severe (GCS 3-8) TBI were hand-searched from medical databases using the terms “hyperbaric oxygen therapy, traumatic brain injury, and post-concussion syndrome”. Glasgow coma scale (GCS) was the primary outcome, while Glasgow outcome score (GOS), overall mortality, and changes in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) score, constituted the secondary outcomes. The results of eight studies (average age of patients, 23-41 years) reveal a higher post-treatment GCS score in the HBOT group (pooled difference in means = 3.13, 95 % CI 2.34-3.92, P < 0.001), in addition to greater improvement in GOS and lower mortality, as compared to the control group. However, no significant change in the PTSD score was observed. Patients undergoing hyperbaric therapy achieved significant improvement in the GCS and GOS with a lower overall mortality, suggesting its utility as a standard intensive care regimen in traumatic brain injury.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Major Ben Richards: A soldier’s story of combat and homecoming
Major Ben Richards explains his injury that caused TBI, how it affected his life, and how HBOT has helped give him his life back.
All the right moves: the need for the timely use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for treating TBI/CTE/PTSD.
Abstract: The modern age of hyperbaric medicine began in 1937; however, today few know about hyperbaric oxygen's effects on the body and medical conditions outside of diving medicine and wound care centers - a serious ethical issue as there are 20 US military veterans...
Body image and psychological outcome after severe skin and soft tissue infection requiring intensive care.
Abstract: Patients with severe skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI) requiring intensive care unit (ICU) stay are commonly treated with antibiotics, surgery and in some centers also with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Long-term follow-up of body image and psychological...
Response to the letter to the editor by Armistead-jehle and Lee on Harch et Al., "A phase I study of low-pressure hyperbaric oxygen therapy for blast-induced post-concussion syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder".
Abstract: Harch, Andrews, Pezzullo (2012). Response to the letter to the editor by Armistead-jehle and Lee on Harch et Al., "A phase I study of low-pressure hyperbaric oxygen therapy for blast-induced post-concussion syndrome and post-traumatic stress...
Response to the Harch Group’s "A phase I study of low-pressure hyperbaric oxygen therapy for blast-induced post-concussion syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder".
Abstract: Armistead-Jehle, Lee (2012). Response to the Harch Group's "A phase I study of low-pressure hyperbaric oxygen therapy for blast-induced post-concussion syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder". Journal of neurotrauma, 2012...
A phase I study of low-pressure hyperbaric oxygen therapy for blast-induced post-concussion syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder: a neuropsychiatric perspective.
Abstract: Wortzel, Arciniegas, Anderson, Vanderploeg, Brenner (2012). A phase I study of low-pressure hyperbaric oxygen therapy for blast-induced post-concussion syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder: a neuropsychiatric perspective. Journal of neurotrauma, 2012...
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the battlefield.
Abstract: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is increasingly being used in a number of areas of medical practice. It is an accepted adjunctive therapy in conditions such as burns, crush injuries, head injuries, spinal cord injuries, reconstruction surgeries, gas...
A phase I study of low-pressure hyperbaric oxygen therapy for blast-induced post-concussion syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder.
This is a preliminary report on the safety and efficacy of 1.5 ATA hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in military subjects with chronic blast-induced mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI)/post-concussion syndrome (PCS) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Sixteen military subjects received 40 1.5 ATA/60 min HBOT sessions in 30 days. Symptoms, physical and neurological exams, SPECT brain imaging, and neuropsychological and psychological testing were completed before and within 1 week after treatment. Subjects experienced reversible middle ear barotrauma (5), transient deterioration in symptoms (4), and reversible bronchospasm (1);
Pneumocephalus, a rare complication of diving.
Abstract: Pneumocephalus is a recognized complication from head and facial traumas, sinus surgery and as a complication from otitis media acuta. Only a few cases of pneumocephalus related to diving have been reported. We report an occupational diver who suffered...