1Cademy - Hyperbaric Oxygen

Concept

Hyperbaric Oxygen

Treatment with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) involves exposing the patient to 100% oxygen in an elevated atmospheric pressure environment. This makes it easier for the oxygen to reach the patient's tissues much faster at higher concentrations. HBO2 was first used to treat decompression sickness, but overtime, the anti-inflammatory effects that HBO2 brings about was revealed. Specifically, HBO2 causes a decrease in inflammatory cytokine levels. There is usually very few side effects that result from HBO2 exposure.
HBO2 could potentially be used to treat the anti-inflammatory responses in COVID-19 patients by attenuating the innate immune system and elevating hypoxia tolerance. Two case reports from China demonstrated that increasing the blood oxygen saturation levels in patients with severe COVID-19 was able to cause a decrease in lung inflammation. A case series from Louisiana demonstrated that upon treatment of 5 severely ill COVID-19 patients with HBO2, their symptoms were improved immediately and they all were recovered after 1-6 HBO2 treatment sessions. These 5 patients never ended up needing intubation or mechanical ventilation. Further research should be done on using HBO2 for COVID-19 treatment.