What Researchers Did
A retrospective, descriptive study was conducted to describe occurrences of hypoglycemia in diabetic patients undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT).
What They Found
Among 100 diabetic patients undergoing HBOT, hypoglycemia (blood glucose <100 mg/dL) occurred in 122 out of 1175 treatments, an incidence of 10.4%. The mean pre-HBOT blood glucose level was 177.86 mg/dL, which decreased to 165.09 mg/dL post-HBOT in analyzed cases.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection as it was conducted in a large US-based multihospital system.
Study Limitations
A limitation of this study is the reliance on retrospective data, with evaluable data only available for a subset of hypoglycemia incidences.