Adjuvant hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the management of crush injury and traumatic ischemia: an evidence-based approach.

What Researchers Did

Researchers conducted a systematic review of clinical papers published between 1966 and 2003 to evaluate the use of adjuvant hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) for crush injury and traumatic ischaemia.

What They Found

The review identified nine clinical papers, encompassing approximately 150 patients, with most being retrospective, uncontrolled case series (Class III evidence). Eight of these nine studies indicated a beneficial effect from adjuvant HBO therapy, with only one major complication reported across all included studies.

Canadian Relevance

This study has no direct Canadian connection or specific Canadian data.

Study Limitations

The primary limitation is that most included studies were retrospective, uncontrolled case series with low evidence quality, and the single randomised trial had design limitations.