Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 March 2005
To the Editor: I read with interest the research note by Saunders (2) in the Summer 2003 issue of International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care. Although this article was published in 2003 and stated to have been a thorough review of hyperbaric oxygen randomized clinical trials, our double-blind randomized control trial in acute carbon monoxide poisoning published in 2002 (4) was not mentioned, except as a blinded interim analysis (3). Our randomized clinical trial was considered a landmark study by Journal Watch–Emergency Medicine (1). Our clinical trial demonstrated a 46 percent reduction in cognitive sequelae at 6 weeks following poisoning, which was maintained 1 year after poisoning.
To the Editor: I read with interest the research note by Saunders (2) in the Summer 2003 issue of International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care. Although this article was published in 2003 and stated to have been a thorough review of hyperbaric oxygen randomized clinical trials, our double-blind randomized control trial in acute carbon monoxide poisoning published in 2002 (4) was not mentioned, except as a blinded interim analysis (3). Our randomized clinical trial was considered a landmark study by Journal Watch–Emergency Medicine (1). Our clinical trial demonstrated a 46 percent reduction in cognitive sequelae at 6 weeks following poisoning, which was maintained 1 year after poisoning.
I hope Dr. Saunders acknowledges these results and contemplates modifying his recommendations regarding the role of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for patients with acute carbon monoxide poisoning.