What Researchers Did
Researchers measured simple and procedural reaction times in military personnel with mild traumatic brain injury randomized to local care, sham, or hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
What They Found
Seventy-two participants with ongoing mTBI symptoms were enrolled, with 64 having data at 13 weeks. Simple reaction time scores did not change in the hyperbaric oxygen or sham groups but decreased in the local care group, while procedural reaction time scores increased then decreased in all groups. However, repeated measures analysis showed no significant difference in changes over time for SRT (p = 0.23) or PRT (p = 0.17) scores among the groups.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
This study suggests that hyperbaric oxygen therapy may not significantly improve reaction times in Canadian patients with mild traumatic brain injury compared to sham or local care. Patients should discuss treatment options with their healthcare providers, as current evidence does not strongly support this intervention for cognitive speed.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection, as it was conducted with military personnel outside of Canada.
Study Limitations
The study may have been underpowered to detect statistically significant changes in reaction time scores.