What Researchers Did
Researchers looked back at records from patients who had a series of hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions for wound healing to see if it was linked to changes in their blood pressure.
What They Found
This retrospective study of 93 wound-healing patients found that hyperbaric oxygen therapy was associated with a decrease in heart rate and systolic blood pressure over the course of treatment, based on age- and sex-adjusted statistical models. Patients received an average of 25 sessions of 100% oxygen at 2.5 atmospheres absolute for 90 minutes daily. The decrease in heart rate was greatest during the first 20 treatments (p less than 0.5), and the decrease in systolic blood pressure was greatest during the last 20 treatments (p less than 0.0001). No effect on diastolic blood pressure was detected (p equals 0.36).
What This Means for Canadian Patients
For patients receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy as an adjunct to wound healing, this study suggests the treatment series was associated with changes in heart rate and systolic blood pressure over time, most of the patients in this study also had type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Because this was a retrospective, observational study rather than a controlled trial, it cannot establish that the treatment caused these changes.
Canadian Relevance
Yes, this study was conducted at the CSSS Alphonse-Desjardins/CHAU de Levis in Quebec, Canada, giving it a direct Canadian connection.
Study Limitations
As a retrospective, observational analysis without a control group, the study can show an association between treatment and blood pressure changes but cannot prove the treatment caused them.