What Researchers Did
French dermatologists tracked 18 patients with severe, painful chronic wounds (excluding diabetic foot ulcers) who received HBOT, measuring how their pain medication needs and wound healing changed over up to 12 months.
What They Found
In 15 of 18 patients (83.3%), painkiller dose or strength was reduced within a median of 3.5 months. Strong opioid use dropped dramatically, from 72.2% of patients before HBOT to just 11.1% after (P = 0.005). Local wound improvement occurred in 83.3% of patients within a median of 3.9 months.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
For Canadians with rare but devastating wound conditions like calciphylaxis or vasculitis, HBOT may offer meaningful pain relief and reduce dependence on opioids, a significant benefit given Canada's ongoing opioid crisis. This is a clinically meaningful finding for patients with conditions that rarely heal with standard wound care.
Canadian Relevance
No direct Canadian connection identified.
Study Limitations
This was a small retrospective study of only 18 patients with no comparison group, so confirming these results requires a larger controlled trial.