A systematic review of randomised controlled trials adddressed whether a primary underlying cause of postoperative complications is related to the surgical stress response, which may be mitigated by hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), the intermittent administration of oxygen at a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure at sea level. Promising clinical studies have emerged suggesting HBOT’s efficacy for reducing some postoperative complications. Notwithstanding, the effectiveness (if any) of HBOT across a range of procedures and postoperative outcomes has yet to be clearly quantified.
This study concluded that peri-operative preventive HBOT may be a promising intervention to improve surgical patient outcome. However, future work should consider addressing the methodological weaknesses identified in this review.
Boet, Sylvain; Martin, Leonardo; Cheng-Boivin, Olivia; Etherington, Nicole; Louge, Pierre; Pignel, Rodrigue; Pellégrini, Michel; Magnan, Marie-Anne; Bennett, Michael Can preventive hyperbaric oxygen therapy optimise surgical outcome?, European Journal of Anaesthesiology: August 2020 – Volume 37 – Issue 8 – p 636-648
doi: 10.1097/EJA.0000000000001219
