Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2011 Mar;35(3):535-42.
doi: 10.1007/s00268-010-0923-4.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy: solution for difficult to heal acute wounds? Systematic review

Anne M Eskes  1 , Dirk T Ubbink, Maarten J Lubbers, Cees Lucas, Hester Vermeulen
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy: solution for difficult to heal acute wounds? Systematic review

Anne M Eskes et al. World J Surg. 2011 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is used to treat various wound types. However, the possible beneficial and harmful effects of HBOT for acute wounds are unclear.

Methods: We undertook a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of HBOT compared to other interventions on wound healing and adverse effects in patients with acute wounds. To detect all available randomized controlled trials (RCTs) we searched five relevant databases up to March 2010. Trial selection, quality assessment, data extraction, and data synthesis were conducted by two of the authors independently.

Results: We included five trials, totaling 360 patients. These trials, with some methodologic flaws, included different kinds of wound and focused on different outcome parameters, which prohibited meta-analysis. A French trial (n = 36 patients) reported that significantly more crush wounds healed with HBOT than with sham HBOT [relative risk (RR) 1.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11-2.61]. Moreover, there were significantly fewer additional surgical procedures required with HBOT (RR 1.60, 95% CI 1.03-2.50), and there was significantly less tissue necrosis (RR 1.70, 95% CI 1.11-2.61). In one of two American trials (n = 141) burn wounds healed significantly quicker with HBOT (P < 0.005) than with routine burn care. A British trial (n = 48) compared HBOT with usual care. HBOT resulted in a significantly higher percentage of healthy graft area in split skin grafts (RR 3.50, 95% CI 1.35-9.11). In a Chinese trial (n = 145) HBOT did not significantly improve flap survival in patients with limb skin defects.

Conclusions: HBOT, if readily available, appears effective for the management of acute, difficult to heal wounds.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow of information through the various phases of a systematic review
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lee CK, Hansen SL. Management of acute wounds. Surg Clin North Am. 2009;89:659–676. doi: 10.1016/j.suc.2009.03.005. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Franz MG, Steed DL, Robson MC. Optimizing healing of the acute wound by minimizing complications. Curr Probl Surg. 2007;44:691–763. doi: 10.1067/j.cpsurg.2007.07.001. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hunt TK, Ellison EC, Sen CK. Oxygen: at the foundation of wound healing—introduction. World J Surg. 2004;28:291–293. doi: 10.1007/s00268-003-7405-x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Thackham JA, McElwain DL, Long RJ. The use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat chronic wounds: a review. Wound Repair Regen. 2008;16:321–330. doi: 10.1111/j.1524-475X.2008.00372.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wang C, Schwaitzberg S, Berliner E, et al. Hyperbaric oxygen for treating wounds: a systematic review of the literature. Arch Surg. 2003;138:272–279. doi: 10.1001/archsurg.138.3.272. - DOI - PubMed