What Researchers Did
Researchers retrospectively reviewed the medical records of six patients with severe cyclophosphamide-induced haemorrhagic cystitis treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy in New Zealand between 2000 and 2007.
What They Found
All six patients experienced cessation of life-threatening haemorrhage after receiving 14 to 40 hyperbaric oxygen treatments. Furthermore, all patients remained free of haematuria during follow-up periods ranging from 11 to 36 months.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
Canadian patients suffering from severe, intractable cyclophosphamide-induced haemorrhagic cystitis might benefit from hyperbaric oxygen therapy. This treatment could offer a low-risk and effective option for managing life-threatening bleeding associated with this condition.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection as it reviewed cases exclusively from New Zealand.
Study Limitations
The study's main limitation is its retrospective design and small sample size of only six patients, which limits generalizability.