What Researchers Did
Researchers retrospectively investigated the effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment in three female patients suffering from urge-incontinence due to radiation injury of the urinary bladder after a Wertheim operation and combined brachy-teletherapy.
What They Found
All three patients, who had not responded to various drug therapies, received up to 40 applications of HBO. In all cases, HBO successfully altered and inverted the dynamic process underlying their chronic bladder changes after irradiation, indicating an improvement in their radiation-induced bladder injury.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
Canadian patients experiencing severe radiation-induced bladder injury that is unresponsive to conventional treatments might potentially find hyperbaric oxygen therapy to be a beneficial option. However, further robust prospective studies are necessary to establish HBO as a standard practical treatment.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection.
Study Limitations
The primary limitations of this study are its retrospective design and very small sample size of only three patients, lacking prospective trials to confirm the benefits.