Update: Diseases and Conditions Treated with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Today we have published an expanded list and new taxonomy of diseases and conditions treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. We consider our new naming and classification more accurate and sensible. We were inspired to change after discovering similar schemes on Australian websites, in particular a Royal Adelaide Hospital list "...as accepted by the Special Interest Group in Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) and the Australian and New Zealand Hyperbaric Medicine Group (ANZHMG) of the South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society (SPUMS)."

Our individual pages are still the best place to get the context on hyperbaric oxygen approval status, current evidence, and patient and clinical resources. Regular visitors will also notice we now list some conditions for which we have not yet published pages. Look for these and other new content as we read and learn about the evidence-based use of hyperbaric oxygen for a broad range diseases and conditions.

TBI: Active-duty Servicemembers to Undergo HBOT Clinical Trials

Clinical investigators have begun enrolling 96 marines, sailors, and soldiers in a 10-week trial of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for traumatic brain injury (TBI). Sites include Camp Pendleton and Camp Lejeune Naval Hospitals and Fort Gordon and Fort Carson Army Hospitals. Read "Pure oxygen used in treating brain injuries" in the Marine Corps Times.

Australian Chiropractor Reprimanded for "'Disgraceful and Dishonourable'' Off-label Treatment and Promotion

A chiropractor in Melbourne, Australia, has been reprimanded by a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for taking advantage of a cerebral palsy patient for his own financial gains and for making false representations about the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the treatment of cerebral palsy, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, infertility, and AIDS. Read "Chiropractor's oxygen treatment created false hope from hot air" on theage.com.au.

So Begins Another Heating and Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Season

In our local broadcast market the first story broke this week: Fumes send 4 to hospital. One man, in critical condition, "was rushed to the nearest hyperbaric chamber," very likely Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, "where the deadly gas will be forced out of his bloodstream under pressure."

All across America temperatures are dropping and buildings are firing up their furnaces. Every year at this time we send out our warning about carbon monoxide poisoning prevention and emergency preparedness. In three years on this beat we have not recorded any noticeable increase in the number of hyperbaric chambers with 24/7 emergency access, like the one at Lutheran General and at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which so proudly promotes its on-call availability and location inside the emergency department. Now that's what we're talking about.

Someday there will be a round-the-clock chamber inside every ER from coast to coast. Until then, let's be careful in there. Install or check your CO detector today.

[Image: WGN-TV video capture]

St. Vincent’s Medical Center (Jacksonville, Florida) Opens Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center

St. Vincent's Center for Limb Preservation, Advanced Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Therapy in Jacksonville, Florida, now includes three new monoplace chambers. Read the announcement on FirstCoastNews.com.

Early Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment for Nonarteritic Central Retinal Artery Obstruction

Findings from a nonrandomized, retrospective case series published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology showed outcomes improvements with the addition of hyperbaric oxygen in the treatment of central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO). Read the abstract and full text article.

DCS Recognizes Saint Peter's University Hospital (New Brunswick, New Jersey)

For the third year running, the Wound Care Center and Hyperbaric Services at Saint Peter's University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, has earned a Distinction Award from Diversified Clinical Services.

ETC Biomedical Systems Group Announces Hyperbaric Chamber Sale to Hyperbaric Healing Institute in Puerto Rico

The order includes two new BARA-MED® monoplace hyperbaric chambers by ETC Biomedical Systems. Read the news release on the ETC website.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy as an Adjunctive Treatment for Sternal Infection and Osteomyelitis after Sternotomy and Cardiothoracic Surgery

A retrospective study published in the Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery concludes that hyperbaric oxygen therapy improved clinical outcomes. Read the abstract and download the provisional abstract.

Hyperbaric News Briefs

Every day we sift through all the hyperbaric news all across the web. Most stories do not merit our serious attention. Many inform the regular development of the HyperbaricLink treatment center directory and diseases and conditions pages. Few interest us enough to blog. Today we begin a new approach, adding to these posts a steady feed of smaller news items, just a headline and a blurb or a tweet with a link, to keep our readers better informed. As always our focus will be fixed on evidence-based hyperbaric oxygen therapy and the people who provide it. Here's to you.

VIDEO: Fire Suppression Test of USC Catalina Chamber, Avalon, California

Watch how well a multiplace fire suppression system works at 6 ATA in this fascinating video from inside the chamber at USC Catalina. From the YouTube description:

Every year the Fire Suppression system of the USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber is tested under pressure. Anything that we do not want to get wet is either removed or sealed in plastic. The Chamber Crew, wearing wetsuits enter and the Chamber is compressed to 165 fsw (6 ATA, 50 msw). At depth the deluge system and the fire hoses are tested. When the ascent from 165 fsw to the first decompression stop at 30 fsw begins the fog starts to roll in as the moisture condenses out of the air. The Total Decompression Time following the dive to 165 fsw for a 12 minute Bottom Time (time from start of descent to beginning of ascent) is about 33 minutes.

We wonder if any other chamber in the US or anywhere in the world goes to such depths to ensure safety. Hats off.



[Video: Luke Peterson]

UHMS Accredits Hyperbaric Medicine at Cache Valley Specialty Hospital, Logan, Utah

The wound care and hyperbaric medicine department at Cache Valley Specialty Hospital, in Logan, Utah, has received accreditation from the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS). The outpatient facility opened in 2008 and is equipped with three monoplace chambers. Read the press announcement at UtahBusiness.com. Learn more about facility accreditation in our UHMS profile and on the UHMS website.

[Photo: Cache Valley Specialty Hospital website]

Rituals of Healing

What do percussion, Napoleon's personal physician, and the stethoscope have in common? Each is a link in Abraham Verghese's eloquent argument for the importance of the physical examination. His TED talk, A Doctor's Touch, reminds us why the role of the physician in the administration of medical treatment should not be shortchanged, no matter how routine or repetitive the process.

Those interested in treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome will want to pay particular attention at the 11-minute mark: Verghese describes a drug-free way of helping patients who suffer from this problematic condition.



[Video: TED, approximately 18 minutes.]

Update: Hyperbaric Oxygen for Intracranial Abscess (Brain and Skull Infections)

Today we have updated and upgraded our Intracranial Abscess (Brain and Skull Infections) page. Infections of the brain and skull may be caused by any number of different bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, protozoa, and other microbial organisms. Children with congenital heart disease and people with compromised immune systems due to chronic disease, cancer therapy, HIV, AIDS, and immunosuppressive drugs after organ transplantation face higher risk.

From our new commentary:

Brain abscesses are deadly serious but much less fatal (10%-30%) since the advent of computed tomography (CT) imaging devices, CT-guided surgical techniques (needle aspiration), and improved microbiology testing and antibiotic regimens.... The mechanisms at work here also greatly interest researchers investigating hyperbaric oxygen for traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Let our Further Reading suggestion stand as a cautionary tale. With a brain abscess, life and health depend on early diagnosis and proper treatment with computer-guided surgery and the right antibiotic regimen. Adding hyperbaric oxygen therapy may be especially prudent in the treatment of multiple abscesses in deep or dominant locations, in patients with immune compromise, and when the infection does not respond well to traditional surgery and antibiotics.

[Image: Amebic brain abscess, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]

Hyperbaric Oxygen Featured in New Grossman Burn Center at St. Luke's Phoenix

Opening this week, the new Grossman Burn Center at St. Luke's Medical Center in Phoenix is only the second burn unit in the state of Arizona. The state-of-the-art center features hyperbaric oxygen therapy, eight intensive care beds, plastic and reconstructive surgery, and a full range of rehabilitation and psychological counseling for patients with severe burns. Click play to watch the video from the local ABC television affiliate, below. Thermal burns is an FDA-cleared and UHMS-approved clinical indication for hyperbaric oxygen. Grossman operates four other burn centers in California and Louisiana, with HBOT "at selected locations."

HBOT Program Oversight: Exposé Makes Good Points

A weekend report out of suburban Philadelphia neatly summarizes one of the main reasons why HyperbaricLink is in business: to encourage and empower better oversight of hyperbaric oxygen therapy programs, physicians, and medical devices. Read the complete article, "Little oversight of oxygen chambers," on phillyBurbs.com.

UHMS director of quality assurance and regulatory affairs Tom Workman is generously quoted and ably represents the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society's position on these matters. We had this to add on the commentary board:

A fine article, Jo Clavaglia, a real public service. Thank you. We will spare you some minor quibbles about a few factual details. The hyperbaric community is working hard to improve access to safe, expertly staffed and accredited treatment centers for underserved patient populations in serious need of wound care, emergency medicine, and other approved uses. Evidence-based medicine doesn't always follow the FDA label. Highly qualified hyperbaric physicians don't always practice at hospitals. But doctors and others wanting to buy a chamber and open a clinic will find the barriers to entry pretty low. Too low. That's why it's especially important for healthcare consumers and referring physicians to learn more about hyperbaric oxygen therapy before seeking treatment. Your article and sources cited make a fine start.

We have no comment on the September 15 story that prompted this article, about FBI confiscation of equipment and records from the offices of a Bucks County hyperbaric physician. No facts have been released. The investigation continues.