Systematic Review Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation 2004

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for traumatic brain injury: a systematic review of the evidence.

McDonagh M, Helfand M, Carson S, Russman BS — Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 2004

View Original on PubMed PMID 15241774

Tier 2, Indexed

Automatically imported from PubMed based on relevance criteria.

Summary

What Researchers Did

Researchers conducted a systematic review to identify the benefits and harms of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for treating traumatic brain injury (TBI).

What They Found

Two fair-quality randomised controlled trials (RCTs) reported conflicting results; one found no difference in mortality (48% HBOT vs 55% control) but significantly more young patients with brainstem contusion regained consciousness with HBOT (67% vs 11%, P<.03). The other RCT found a significant decrease in mortality with HBOT (17% vs 31%, P=.037) but an increase in severe disability, particularly for patients with intracranial pressure greater than 20 mmHg or a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 4 to 6.

Canadian Relevance

This study has no direct Canadian connection.

Study Limitations

The main limitation was the conflicting results from only two fair-quality randomised controlled trials and the lack of strong evidence from five observational studies.

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Study Details

Study Type	Systematic Review
Category	Neurological
Source	Pubmed
PubMed ID	15241774
Year Published	2004
Journal	Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation
MeSH Terms	Brain Injuries; Cerebrovascular Circulation; Glasgow Coma Scale; Humans; Hyperbaric Oxygenation; Intracranial Pressure; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

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Last reviewed: April 2, 2026 | Reviewed by: Canada Hyperbarics Editorial Team | Editorial process | Research sources | Counts & methodology