What Researchers Did
Dutch researchers set up a prospective registry to track Long COVID patients receiving HBOT in real-world clinical practice, collecting patient-reported outcomes at baseline, after treatment, at 3 months, and at 1 year, reporting the 3-month data here.
What They Found
At 3 months post-HBOT, 56–63% of long-term ill patients showed a clinically meaningful improvement in either mental or physical quality of life scores (≥10-point increase on the SF-36). However, 13–19% of patients experienced a meaningful worsening of their condition. Cognitive symptoms showed the most consistent improvement.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
Canadians considering HBOT for Long COVID should be aware that while a majority of patients in this registry improved, a meaningful minority got noticeably worse. The cognitive symptom improvements are encouraging, but the risk of deterioration means patients should be monitored closely throughout treatment.
Canadian Relevance
No direct Canadian connection identified. Long COVID is not an OHIP-covered indication for HBOT.
Study Limitations
This is an uncontrolled registry without a placebo group, so natural disease course or placebo effects cannot be separated from treatment benefits.