What Researchers Did
Researchers studied 116 patients with confirmed clostridial myonecrosis, treating them with a combination of hyperbaric oxygen therapy at 3 ATA and repeated surgical removal of dead tissue.
What They Found
The study reported an overall mortality rate of 50.8%, even though 80.1% of patients had severe toxicity when admitted. Survival rates varied significantly by the infection's location: 34.5% for proximal sites like the elbow or knee (55 patients), 88.6% for peripheral limbs (44 patients) where amputation was avoided in 21 cases, and 23.5% for abdominal infections (17 patients).
Canadian Relevance
This study covers clostridial myonecrosis (gas gangrene), which is a Health Canada-recognised indication for hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Study Limitations
This study is a retrospective case series from 1995 and lacks a control group, making it challenging to compare the effectiveness of the treatment against other approaches.