Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in acute stroke: is it time for Justitia to open her eyes?

Milija D. Mijajlovic*, Vuk Aleksic, Nenad Milosevic, Natan M. Bornstein

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Hypoxia is a critical component of neuronal death in patients with stroke. Therefore increasing oxygenation of brain tissue seems to be a logical therapy against cerebral ischemia. Oxygen therapy exists in two modalities: normobaric hyperoxia therapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO). HBO is a therapeutic procedure in which pure (100%) oxygen is administered at greater than atmospheric pressure in HBO therapy chambers. In this review article, we aimed to summarize the current knowledge regarding the therapeutic use of HBO in acute stroke patients. Literature review and electronic search were performed using PubMed, Medscape, and UpToDate with the keywords stroke, acute stroke, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and hyperoxia. According to the reviewed literature, the use of HBO as routine stroke therapy cannot be justified in acute stage of stroke. More randomized, controlled studies are needed regarding safety and especially effectives of HBO in stroke patients. Also, standardized definition of HBO should be proposed and used in all future studies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1381-1390
Number of pages10
JournalNeurological Sciences
Volume41
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jun 2020

Keywords

  • Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
  • Hyperoxia
  • Normobaric hyperoxia therapy
  • Stroke

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