Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Abstract

Hyperbaric oxygen is a treatment in which a patient breathes 100% oxygen intermittently while inside a treatment chamber at a pressure higher than at sea level pressure (ie, >1 atm). In certain circumstances, it represents the primary treatment modality, whereas in others it is an adjunct to surgical or pharmacologic interventions. After reviewing all the scientific evidence available to date, the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, in its latest publication, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Indications (12th ed.), recommends 13 indications for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Several of these indications are related to our practice of wound care. The article discusses these indications in detail.