What Researchers Did
Researchers enrolled 30 diabetic patients with non-healing lower extremity ulcers to investigate the effect of ten hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions on QT dispersion.
What They Found
After ten sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, corrected QT dispersion significantly decreased from 59.8 +/- 17.4 msec to 52.2 +/- 15.5 msec (p < 0.05). However, maximum, minimum, and mean corrected QT intervals did not change significantly.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
For diabetic patients with non-healing ulcers, hyperbaric oxygen therapy may offer an additional benefit by potentially reducing the risk of dangerous heart arrhythmias. This could lead to improved cardiac outcomes in this vulnerable patient population.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection.
Study Limitations
The study was limited by its small sample size and lack of a control group, which restricts the generalizability of the findings.