What Researchers Did
Researchers retrospectively studied ten patients with invasive aspergillosis who received adjunctive hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO) along with standard care, assessing survival at 3 months.
What They Found
Out of ten patients with invasive aspergillosis, primarily presenting with rhinosinusinal infection and underlying hematologic malignancies, all received adjunctive hyperbaric oxygenation. Six of these ten patients (60%) were free of signs of infection three months after their initial hyperbaric oxygen treatment.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
For Canadian patients suffering from invasive aspergillosis, this study suggests that adjunctive hyperbaric oxygenation could potentially be a beneficial addition to standard therapy. However, given the small sample size and retrospective nature, patients should discuss all treatment options with their healthcare providers.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection as it was conducted at a single institution outside of Canada.
Study Limitations
Key limitations include the retrospective design, the very small sample size of ten patients, and its conduct at a single institution.