Adults with diabetes and chronic lower limb wounds randomly assigned to 6 weeks of hyperbaric oxygen therapy or a sham procedure met similar amputation criteria and experienced similar wound healing rates at the conclusion of treatment, according to research in Diabetes Care.
In a prospective, double blind, randomized controlled trial, Ludwik Fedorko, MD, PhD, FRCPC, of Toronto General Hospital and University Health Network in Ontario, Canada, and colleagues analyzed data from 107 adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and chronic lower limb wounds persisting for a minimum of 4 weeks. Within the cohort, 49 participants were randomly assigned to 30 daily sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy lasting 90 minutes each (breathing oxygen at 244 kPa); 54 participants were assigned to a sham procedure (breathing oxygen at 125 kPa; equivalent to breathing 27% oxygen by face mask), in addition to receiving comprehensive wound care …
“The adjuvant [hyperbaric oxygen therapy] care provided no incremental benefit in improving measures of wound healing,” the researchers wrote. “These results are in contrast to several cohort and open-label randomized trials where no sham placebo was used.” – by Regina Schaffer