Middle ear barotrauma during hyperbaric oxygen therapy; a review of occurrences in 5,962 patients.

Hyperbaric-associated middle ear barotrauma (MEB) is one of the most common side effects of the exposure to hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) therapy. This retrospective observational study of 5,962 patients undergoing longterm therapy for chronic conditions took place at the local Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine Unit (DHMU) in Villafranca-Verona (Italy), a DHMU that administers, in multiplace chambers, more than 20,000 HBO2 treatments per year. The study was designed to weight and analyze both the incidence and severity of MEBs at the facility.

Preconditioning with hyperbaric oxygen in pancreaticoduodenectomy: a randomized double-blind pilot study.

Unlabelled: In a prospective randomized double-blind study, we evaluated the post-operative biological and clinical effects of a single preoperative hyperbaric-treatment the day before surgery for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Patients And Methods: Twenty one patients were randomized and divided into two groups: group-A (10 patients, 48%) were exposed to a HyperBaric Oxygen (HBO) session the day before intervention [Pre-Intervention Day (PID)], group-B (11 patients, 52%) breathed air for 40 min in a hyperbaric chamber pressurized to 1.15 ATA (placebo group).

Effect of hyperbaric oxygenation and gemcitabine on apoptosis of pancreatic ductal tumor cells in vitro.

Background: Gemcitabine is first-line therapy for advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) with a poor survival and response rate. Hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO) enhances delivery of oxygen to hypoxic tumor cells and increases their susceptibility to cytotoxic effects of chemotherapy. We hypothesized that the anticancer activity of gemcitabine (GEM) may be enhanced if tumor cells are placed in an oxygen-rich environment.

Effects of alpha lipoic acid and its R+ enantiomer supplemented to hyperbaric oxygen therapy on interleukin-6, TNF-α and EGF production in chronic leg wound healing.

Context: Lipoic acid (LA) and hyperbaric oxygenation therapy (HBOT) improve chronic wound healing.

Objective: We compared the effects of LA or its enantiomer R-(+)-lipoic acid (RLA) on wound healing.

Materials And Methods: Groups LA + HBOT (L), RLA + HBOT (R) and placebo + HBOT (P).

alpha-Lipoic acid modulates extracellular matrix and angiogenesis gene expression in non-healing wounds treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

alpha-Lipoic acid (LA) has been found previously to accelerate wound repair in patients affected by chronic wounds who underwent hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy. Because proteinases are important in wound repair, we hypothesized that LA may regulate matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression in cells that are involved in wound repair. Patients undergoing HBO therapy were double-blind randomized into two groups: the LA group and the placebo group.

alpha-Lipoic acid supplementation inhibits oxidative damage, accelerating chronic wound healing in patients undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy is successfully used for the treatment of a variety of conditions. However, prolonged exposure to high concentrations of oxygen induces production of reactive oxygen species, causing damage to the cells. Thus, antioxidant supplementation has been proposed as an adjuvant to attenuate such deleterious secondary effects.