Hyperbaric oxygen improves capillary morphology in severe acute pancreatitis.

Objectives: This article aims to determine the effect of acute pancreatitis on microvascular morphology and the impact of treatment with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO).

Methods: Sixty-seven male Wistar rats were induced with acute pancreatitis by retrograde bile duct injection. Rats were randomized to 12-hourly HBO or control treatment.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy reduces severity and improves survival in severe acute pancreatitis.

Severe acute pancreatitis is characterized by pancreatic necrosis, resulting in local and systemic inflammation. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy modulates inflammation, but has not been extensively studied in pancreatitis. This study investigates the effects of HBO in a rat model of severe acute pancreatitis.

Potential effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in acute pancreatitis.

Background: To extract from the biomedical published reports, the effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) on inflammatory disease, in particular acute pancreatitis.

Methods: This review will explain these effects and evaluate potential mechanisms of action of HBO in acute pancreatitis. A Medline/PubMed search (January 1966 to July 2004) with manual cross-referencing was conducted, including all relevant articles investigating the molecular and systemic effects of HBO on inflammatory diseases, particularly focusing on the studies of acute pancreatitis.