Are there any side effects to hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatment?

Hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy is a relatively common treatment method, and its treatment range is also relatively wide. For example, it has a good therapeutic effect on anaerobic infections and carbon monoxide poisoning. It has a decompression effect and is also very effective for ischemic and hypoxic encephalopathy. As long as the normal operation is followed, hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy will not have side effects. If the operation is improper, it may cause oxygen poisoning, barotrauma and other diseases.

side effect

Conventional HBO treatment will not produce any side effects. However, if the staff operates improperly, does not follow the operating procedures, or is unscientific and changes the treatment plan without authorization, serious consequences may occur.

1) Oxygen poisoning : refers to the functional or organic damage caused by oxygen to the body after inhaling high concentrations of oxygen for a certain period of time under high pressure or normal pressure. Oxygen poisoning can be divided into central, pulmonary, hemolytic and ocular types. No matter which type of oxygen poisoning occurs, the entire body is affected simultaneously. Clinically, oxygen inhalation at pressures higher than 0.3 MPa, arbitrarily extending the oxygen inhalation time during routine treatment, and long-term inhalation of oxygen concentrations higher than 50% at normal pressure are common causes of oxygen poisoning. There are roughly three aspects to its mechanism:

1. The toxic effects of oxygen on central metabolism;

2. Toxic effects of oxygen on enzymes;

3. Excessive production of free radicals. Once oxygen poisoning occurs, stop oxygen inhalation immediately, which can usually relieve the symptoms. Vitamin E, C, K, magnesium ion preparations, etc. can prevent oxygen poisoning.

2) Barotrauma: Common ones include middle ear barotrauma, paranasal sinus barotrauma and lung barotrauma. In addition, if pneumothorax is not discovered and treated in time during decompression, the gas in the chest cavity may over-expand, the lungs and heart may be compressed, and the mediastinum may swing, which may cause sudden death of the patient.

3) Decompression sickness: The decompression speed is too fast and the amplitude is too large, which reduces the solubility of gas in the tissue, and forms bubbles in the blood and tissue, causing vascular gas embolism and tissue compression, a high-risk condition. Fortunately, this situation mostly occurs in diving operations and is very rare in general HBO treatment. As long as we attach importance to it and strictly follow the procedures, this disease is not difficult to prevent.

Basic Introduction

It is usually composed of a cabin, exhaust (oxygen) supply and exhaust system, air conditioning system and control system.

The pressurized medium is air or medical oxygen. The maximum working pressure of air pressurization is not more than 0.3MPa, and the maximum working pressure of oxygen pressurization is not more than 0.2MPa.

Air compression is divided into single-person oxygen chamber and multi-person oxygen chamber according to the number of people being treated in the chamber.

The number of people allowed in the oxygen compression chamber is 1, and it is usually divided into medical oxygen chambers for adults and medical oxygen chambers for infants and young children (including newborns).