Undersea Hyperbar M
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Undersea Hyperbar M · Jul 2015
Review Case ReportsResearch report: Charcoal type used for hookah smoking influences CO production.
A hookah smoker who was treated for severe carbon monoxide poisoning with hyperbaric oxygen reported using a different type of charcoal prior to hospital admission, i.e., quick-light charcoal. This finding led to a study aimed at determining whether CO production differs between charcoals commonly used for hookah smoking, natural and quick-light. Our hypothesis was that quick-light charcoal produces significantly more CO than natural charcoal. ⋯ The mean CO levels produced by quick-light charcoal over 90 minutes was significantly higher (3728 ± 2028) compared to natural charcoal (1730 ± 501 ppm, p = 0.016). However, the temperature was significantly greater when burning natural charcoal (292 ± 87) compared to quick-light charcoal (247 ± 92 degrees C, p = 0.013). The high levels of CO produced when using quick-light charcoals may be contributing to the increase in reported hospital admissions for severe CO poisoning.
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Undersea Hyperbar M · Jul 2015
ReviewClinical results in brain injury trials using HBO2 therapy: Another perspective.
The current debate surrounding the use of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) for neurological indications, specifically mild to moderate chronic traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and post-concussion syndrome (PCS), is mired in confusion due to the use of non-validated controls and an unfamiliarity by many practitioners of HBO2 therapy with the experimental literature. In the past 40 years, the use of an air sham (21% oxygen, 1.14-1.5 atmospheres absolute/atm abs) in clinical and animal studies, instead of observational or crossover controls, has led to false acceptance of the null hypothesis (declaring no effect when one is present), due to the biological activity of these "sham" controls. The recent Department of Defense/Veterans Administration (DoD/VA) sponsored trials, previous published reports on the use of HBO2 therapy on stroke and mTBI and preliminary reports from the HOPPS Army trial, have helped to highlight the biological activity of pressurized air, validate the development of a convincing control for future studies and demonstrate the effectiveness of a hyperbaric intervention for mTBI/ PCS. Approval of HBO2 for neurological indications, especially for mTBI/PCS, should be granted at the federal, state and certifying body levels as a safe and viable treatment for recovery in the post-acute phase.
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Undersea Hyperbar M · Jul 2015
Randomized Controlled TrialCognitive function in a traumatic brain injury hyperbaric oxygen randomized trial.
Determine changes in cognition and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in subjects with traumatic brain injury (TBI) exposed to 2.4 atmospheres absolute (atm abs) breathing 100% oxygen vs. sham (1.3 atm-abs air). ⋯ There was no statistically significant difference between a sham and 2.4 atm abs hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) in cognitive scores from ImPACT and Brain-checkers or composite scores in the PCL-M; however both groups showed improvement. Subgroups with favorable response to treatment are identified. Future studies evaluating HBO2 should consider concussion histories or focus on validating subgroup response to determine HBO2 as a potential adjunctive treatment for persistent symptoms following TBI.