What Researchers Did
Researchers described outcomes in 82 thermal burn patients treated with HBOT at a Vietnamese maritime medicine institute between 2018 and 2022 using three hospital-developed HBOT protocols.
What They Found
The average hospital stay was 8.9 days, significantly shorter than expected for burn severity. The majority of patients (80.5%) had burns covering less than 10% of body surface area; 51.2% had third-degree burns. HBOT was associated with pain relief and accelerated wound healing.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
Burn care in Canada rarely includes HBOT as a routine component, but this study supports the potential for HBOT to reduce hospital length of stay and promote healing, particularly for moderate burns. Canadian burn centres could benefit from exploring HBOT protocols for appropriate patients.
Canadian Relevance
No direct Canadian connection identified.
Study Limitations
This is an uncontrolled case series without a comparison group, making it impossible to determine how much of the outcome was due to HBOT versus other aspects of care.