What Researchers Did
Researchers identified patients with biopsy-proven perineal metastatic Crohn's disease and treated three of them with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, monitoring wound healing with photographs and standardized questionnaires.
What They Found
Out of 13 patients with persistent perineal wounds after proctectomy, six (46%) had biopsy-proven metastatic Crohn's disease. Three of these patients received hyperbaric oxygen therapy; one achieved complete wound healing, another showed initial improvement before a flare at 3 months, and the third reported improvement only in questionnaires.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
For Canadian patients with metastatic Crohn's disease, this small case series suggests hyperbaric oxygen therapy might be a potential treatment option for perineal wounds, though results were mixed. Patients should discuss this therapy with their healthcare provider to determine if it is suitable for their specific condition.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection as it was conducted at the Amsterdam University Medical Centre.
Study Limitations
The main limitation of this study is its very small sample size, being a case series with only three patients receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which limits the generalizability of the findings.