• Satoshi Ambiru, Nobuaki Furuyama, Mitsuo Aono, Fumio Kimura, Hiroaki Shimizu, Hiroyuki Yoshidome, Masaru Miyazaki, Hideaki Shimada, and Takenori Ochiai.
• Surgical Center, Chiba University Hospital, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8677, Japan. ambiru-s@umin.ac.jp
• Hepato Gastroenterol. 2007 Oct 1;54(79):1925-9.

Background/AimsThe results of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy for treatment of postoperative paralytic ileus and adhesive intestinal obstruction associated with abdominal surgery are unknown.MethodologyA retrospective review of postoperative paralytic ileus and adhesive intestinal obstruction associated with abdominal surgery in 626 patients required 758 admissions who underwent HBO therapy was undertaken to examine the efficacy of HBO therapy.ResultsThe overall resolution rates for patients receiving HBO therapy in cases of postoperative paralytic ileus and adhesive intestinal obstruction were 92% and 85%, respectively. Among patients who were more than 75 years old, the therapies resolved 35 (97%) of 36 cases of postoperative paralytic ileus and 42 (81%) of 52 cases of adhesive intestinal obstruction, which was comparable to the results for patients less than 75 years old. The mortality rate was 1.2% overall. Complications related to HBO therapy occurred in 3.8% of the admissions, and most of them were not serious.ConclusionsThese results suggest that HBO therapy might deserve further assessment for use in management of postoperative paralytic ileus and adhesive intestinal obstruction as a new modality. HBO therapy is safe and non-invasive, and may be useful in the elderly patients, since mortality was relatively low in this series.

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