Hyperbaric oxygen wound healing
06/23/2014
source of discussion:

Hyperbaric Oxygen for the Treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A Systematic Review
R.M. Stoekenbroeka, Corresponding author contact information, E-mail the corresponding author, T.B. Santemaa, D.A. Legematea, D.T. Ubbinka, A. van den Brinka, b, M.J.W. Koelemaya

EJVES June 2014

Their conclusions:

Two RCTs in patients with ischaemic ulcers found increased rates of complete healing at 1-year follow-up (number needed to treat (NNT) 1.8 (95% CI: 1.1 to 4.6) and 4.1 (95% CI: 2.3 to 19)), but found no difference in amputation rates. A third trial in ischaemic ulcers found significantly lower major amputation rates in patients with HBOT (NNT 4.2, 95% CI: 2.4 to 17), but did not report on wound healing. None of the RCTs in non-ischaemic ulcers reported differences in wound healing or amputation rates. Two trials with unknown ulcer types reported beneficial effects on amputation rates, although the largest trial used a different definition for both outcomes. HBOT did not influence the need for additional interventions.

Conclusion

Current evidence shows some evidence of the effectiveness of HBOT in improving the healing of diabetic leg ulcers in patients with concomitant ischaemia. Larger trials of higher quality are needed before implementation of HBOT in routine clinical practice in patients with diabetic foot ulcers can be justified.

This is very interesting topoic. Looking on the table and results, the trials did show a significant difference in the healing rate for a fairly low NNT; but interesting enough, this didn’t reflect on the final amputaion rate (minor or major) that significantly. But who said that the amputation is only related to wound healing?
So the answer to the question above is: yes, use it if available; there is some good evidence for its benefits; but don’t get over excited!

Related Post

A&E training, AAA, AAA SCORE, anaemia, Aortic dissection, aortic surgery, arm veins, atherosclerosis prevention, AV Fistula, bed side teaching, bmj, Bone marrow cell therapy (BMCT), bypass, CAR. registry, carotid artery aneurysm, carotid artery disease, carotid disease, carotid in geriatrics, Carotid stenting, chewing gum, Children, claudication; bypass; angioplasty;, complex AAA; FEVAR; BEVAR, complex EVARs, cone beam CT, coronary angiogram, coronavirus, covid19, critical ischaemia, Dental, Direct Anticoagulants, Direct oral anticoagulation, DVT, Embolisation, Endoleak, EVAR, familial AAA;, FEA, femoral artery aneurysm, Frailty, Funding, Gallery, graft, Health, Health and fitness, Hernia, Hyperbaric oxygen, hypertension, Ileus, Implants, Interesting_Stuff, Intermittent claudication; Exercise; Physical activity; Accelerometer; Energy expenditure, laparoscopic aneurysm repair, larva therapy, lymphoedema, Massage, MRI, New approaches, News, NICE, Oral, pasties trial, perforators, Popliteal aneurysm, Pregnancy, PTFE, radiation, Radiofrequency Ablation, RFA, RIVAROXABAN, rupture risk, ruptured aneurysm, SFA lesion in India, shunting, simulation, smoking, Spider veins, Spinal cord ischaemia, stroke, Structured Exercises, Structured_Exercises, TASC II, Teeth, telangectasia, Thoracic aneurysm, Thrombolysis, Thrombosis, ulcers, Uncategorized, varicose veins, vascular curriculum, vein harvesting; endocopic harvesting, Venus eczema, wound healing, Yoga, ارتفاع ضغط الدم, كورونا
26 Apr, 2020

Vascular Diseases for GPs and non-vascular Specialists. An A-Z reference book. 2020

Introducing our new reference book : Vascular Diseases for GPs and non-vascular Specialists. An A-Z reference book. 2020 Now on Amazon Prime. Why don't you look inside : https://www.amazon.co.uk/…/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_apa_i_VTbMEbB186B… In… Read More