What Researchers Did
Researchers examined how hyperbaric oxygen therapy affected markers of oxidative stress and certain blood cell counts in 23 patients with skin wounds that were difficult to heal.
What They Found
The study found no significant changes in oxidative stress markers like TBARS or antioxidant enzyme activities (CAT, SOD, GPx) after either the first or 25 hyperbaric oxygen treatments. However, after 25 treatments, platelet count decreased by 18.7%, granulocyte count decreased by about 21%, while lymphocyte and monocyte percentages increased by 16.6% and 16.4% respectively.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
For Canadian patients suffering from difficult-to-heal skin wounds, this study suggests that hyperbaric oxygen therapy may be a safe treatment option concerning its impact on the body's oxidation-reduction balance. While HBOT did not significantly alter oxidative stress markers, it did lead to changes in certain blood cell counts, which could be relevant for patient monitoring during treatment.
Canadian Relevance
This study was not conducted in Canada nor by Canadian authors. However, it covers difficult-to-heal skin wounds, a category that includes diabetic foot ulcers, which is a Health Canada-recognized indication for hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Study Limitations
A limitation of this study is its relatively small sample size of 23 patients, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.