What Researchers Did
Clinicians treated a woman with a non-healing wound of 9 years' duration, combined with anxiety and depression, using 20 sessions of HBOT at 2.4 ATA for 120 minutes per session (Monday through Friday for 4 weeks), plus daily dressing changes, then measured wound healing and quality of life at one year.
What They Found
The wound achieved complete and lasting remission after HBOT. On standardized questionnaires (SF-36 and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), the patient also reported significant subjective improvement in quality of life, anxiety, and depression at one year after treatment.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
Chronic wounds affect hundreds of thousands of Canadians and carry a heavy emotional burden, including anxiety and depression. This case suggests that in patients with complex wounds linked to psychological factors, HBOT may address both the physical and mental health dimensions of the condition, an often-overlooked aspect of wound care.
Canadian Relevance
This study has a Canadian author (Antunes F, listed with a Canadian affiliation). Diabetic foot ulcers and certain other chronic wounds are OHIP-covered indications for HBOT in Ontario; however, this patient did not have diabetes.
Study Limitations
As a single case report in one non-diabetic patient, this finding cannot be generalized; it is also not possible to separate the effects of HBOT from the effects of consistent wound dressing and regular clinical attention.