What Researchers Did
Doctors in Portugal reviewed the records of patients with a sudden blocked blood vessel in the eye (central retinal artery occlusion) who were treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), looking at how their vision changed after treatment.
What They Found
This retrospective study of 114 patients found that 46% (n=52) had a clinically significant improvement in visual acuity (a dif-logMAR change of 0.3 or more), and 58% (n=66) reported subjective visual improvement after treatment. Patients received a median of seven HBOT sessions at 2.4 ATA with 100% oxygen for 90 minutes each, starting a mean of 12 hours after symptoms began. At the start of treatment, 84% (n=96) of patients had very poor vision (counting fingers or worse). No serious adverse effects from HBOT were reported.
Canadian Relevance
No direct Canadian connection identified. The study was conducted at a hospital in Portugal.
Study Limitations
This was a retrospective study at a single center with no comparison group of untreated patients, so it cannot show that HBOT caused the vision changes observed.