What Researchers Did
Researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial with 180 divers suffering from decompression illness (DCI) to evaluate the adjunctive use of tenoxicam or placebo alongside recompression therapy for seven days.
What They Found
The study found no significant difference in the proportion of patients with mild residual symptoms at discharge (tenoxicam 37% vs. placebo 30%, P=0.41) or at six weeks (tenoxicam 17% vs. placebo 20%, P=0.58). However, patients receiving tenoxicam required significantly fewer hyperbaric oxygen treatments to achieve discharge (median 2 treatments vs. 3 for placebo, P=0.01), with 61% needing less than 3 compressions compared to 40% in the placebo group (P=0.01).
What This Means for Canadian Patients
For Canadian divers experiencing decompression illness, adjunctive tenoxicam could potentially reduce the number of hyperbaric oxygen treatment sessions required. This might lead to a shorter treatment duration and potentially lower healthcare costs associated with DCI management.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection as it was not conducted in Canada or by Canadian researchers.
Study Limitations
A limitation of this study is its focus on a specific population of divers with decompression illness, which may limit the generalizability of these findings to other patient groups.