Effects of an Early Detection System for Barotrauma During Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Abstract

Introduction:

Although hyperbaric oxygen therapy is required in disasters or emergency situations, barotrauma, which is the most common complication, continues to occur. If barotrauma occurs during hyperbaric oxygen treatment, treatment is stopped, and there is no proper preventive method for this. Therefore, the authors evaluated the degree of barotrauma prevention by applying a tympanometry-based anti-barotrauma device (ABT).

Method:

The candidates of the clinical trial are adults between the ages of 18 and 65 who correspond to academic indications for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. In a prospective parallel design, the candidates were placed in the test group and control group. Simple randomization and one-sided blinding were applied. The medical staff directly observed the severity of middle ear barotrauma through a video otoscope. The number of treatment interruptions and completions along with findings from the otoscope observation (Grade 0~5) such as level of ear pain (pain scale value) were collected at three university hospitals.

Results:

When ABT was applied, it was possible to prevent barotrauma earlier than the traditional medical observation. However, since the application of ABT requires the patient's voluntary cooperation, it is difficult to prevent barotrauma if a patient has reduced consciousness or is unable to follow the instructions of the medical staff.

Conclusion:

Applying ABT is an appropriate method for early detection of barotrauma. However, in order to be applicable to patients with reduced consciousness or difficulty in cooperation, an automatic intrinsic pressure reduction system should be developed.