Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for veterans with combat-associated posttraumatic stress disorder: a randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial

What Researchers Did

Researchers conducted a randomised, sham-controlled trial to evaluate the effects of 60 daily sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) versus sham on male veterans aged 25-60 with combat-associated posttraumatic stress disorder (CA-PTSD).

What They Found

Of 63 randomised veterans, 56 completed the study (28 per group). The hyperbaric oxygen therapy group showed a significant decrease in mean CAPS-5 total score, dropping from 42.57 at baseline to 25.8 post-treatment.

Canadian Relevance

This study has no direct Canadian connection as it was not conducted in Canada nor involved Canadian participants.

Study Limitations

A limitation is that the study population was restricted to male veterans aged 25-60 with combat-associated PTSD, potentially limiting generalizability to other populations.