The Effect of a 300 mBar Increase in Barometric Pressure on Digital Microcirculation in Healthy Subjects Exposed to High Altitude: Is the Use of a Portable Hyperbaric Chamber to Treat Frostbite and/or Hypothermia in the Field Indicated? (Flow_Pulse Study).

Introduction: Hypothermia and frostbite occur when there is a significant decrease in central and peripheral body temperature in individuals exposed to cold windy conditions, often at high altitude or in a mountain environment. Portable hyperbaric chambers increase the barometric pressure and thereby the partial pressure of oxygen inside the chamber, and their use is a well-known treatment for altitude illness. This study aims to show that a portable hyperbaric chamber could also be used to treat hypothermia and frostbite in the field, when rescue or descent is impossible or delayed.