What Researchers Did
Researchers looked back at hospital records to see how severe frostbite patients treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO2) fared compared to those who were not treated with it.
What They Found
This retrospective cohort study of 214 severe frostbite patients treated at a high-volume burn center between October 2013 and March 2020 found that the 62 patients who received HBO2 therapy had a significantly higher rate of surgical interventions, including amputation and debridement, than those who did not receive HBO2. Patients who received HBO2 were also more likely to have been given thrombolytic (clot-dissolving) drugs, had larger areas of tissue affected, tended to be younger, and stayed in the hospital longer. The authors describe the relationship between HBO2 and outcomes as complex, noting that injury severity, patient demographics, and thrombolytic treatment all appeared to influence results.
Canadian Relevance
No direct Canadian connection identified.
Study Limitations
As a retrospective study, patients were not randomly assigned to HBO2 treatment, and those who received it already had more severe injuries, making it impossible to separate the effect of HBO2 itself from the effect of injury severity on the surgical outcomes observed.