What Researchers Did
Researchers investigated the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in 16 patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, administering 15 treatment sessions over three weeks and assessing fatigue and quality of life before and after.
What They Found
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy was well tolerated by the 16 patients, with no reported complications. After 15 treatment sessions, patients showed significant improvements in visual analog fatigue scale, fatigue severity scale, and fatigue quality of life scores (all p<0.005). These findings suggest that HBO2 therapy decreased symptom severity and increased the quality of life for chronic fatigue syndrome patients.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection.
Study Limitations
The study's main limitations include its small sample size of 16 patients and the absence of a control group.