Hyperbaric Medicine is the fascinating use of barometric pressure for delivering increased oxygen dissolved in plasma to body tissues. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) is a form of treatment in which a patient breathes 100% oxygen at higher than normal atmospheric pressure that is greater than 1 atmosphere absolute (ATA). Therapy is given in special therapeutic chambers, which were earlier used primarily to treat illnesses of deep-sea divers.
In the sixties HBO went out of practice because of its use without adequate scientific validation. Over the last two decades, animal studies, clinical trials and well-validated clinical experience has proved efficacy of HBO in many indications and there is recently a renewed interest in this field all over the world. Acute traumatic wounds, Crush injuries, Burns, Gas gangrene and compartment syndrome are indications where addition of Hyperbaric…
