What Researchers Did
Researchers presented a case report detailing the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy alongside antibiotics for a 25-year-old male with poorly healing bilateral mandibular fractures.
What They Found
The patient received 30 hyperbaric oxygen treatments and 30 days of intravenous antibiotics, showing good clinical response with healed intraoral wounds and a decrease in erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Although serial imaging revealed a fibrous non-bony union of the left fracture, there was no evidence of underlying infection, allowing for a planned definitive extraoral plating.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
This case suggests that hyperbaric oxygen therapy, when combined with antibiotics, could be a valuable adjunctive treatment for Canadian patients experiencing complex, non-healing mandibular fractures with suspected osteomyelitis. Such an approach might help manage infection and improve wound healing, potentially facilitating subsequent definitive surgical interventions.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection as it is a case report from outside Canada.
Study Limitations
As a single case report, the findings are limited in generalizability and cannot establish definitive treatment efficacy.