High blood pressure (hyperbaric) brings faster results than standard treatment to patients with severe shortness of breath due to Covid-19, according to a new study by scientists from Argentina. Their small clinical trial shows that with hyperbaric oxygen it takes an average of only three days, instead of nine, to treat this particular problem of shortness of breath due to lack of sufficient oxygen (hypoxemia).
In hyperbaric oxygen therapy, patients breathe oxygen into a chamber at a pressure higher than atmospheric at sea level. This method of oxygen delivery is considered safe and effective in patients with severe Covid-19. The use of portable hyperbaric chambers allows to avoid the transfer of patients to another area.
The researchers, led by Dr. Mariana Canelotto of the Argentine Association of Overweight Medicine and Research, published in the Emergency Medicine Journal, studied 40 adults with a mean age of 55 and Covid-19. Patients admitted to three Buenos Aires hospitals with severe respiratory distress were randomly divided into two groups, one receiving routine treatment and the other receiving hyperbaric oxygen. No patient had previously had more than 90% oxygen saturation despite being given conventional oxygen.
Standard treatment consisted of antibiotics, dexamethasone, paracetamol and masked oxygen. Hyperbaric therapy consisted of five or more high-pressure oxygen deliveries lasting 90 minutes at a time.
Within 30 days of hospitalization, hyperbaric therapy did not reduce the need for intubation or the risk of death. However, the difference in oxygen saturation level before and after treatment was significant in patients who received hyperbaric oxygen. These patients showed a more immediate improvement and their breathing returned to normal in a much shorter time (3 instead of 9 days, so in a third of the time), compared to those who had received the standard treatment, without significant side effects.
The researchers noted that “severe Covid-19 cases that require mechanical ventilation have a high risk of death. Therefore, new treatment strategies are needed and the new study provides evidence to support hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which could be “The latter make it unnecessary to transport patients to other parts of the hospital, which would also increase the risk of transmitting the coronavirus.”
However, more studies are needed to confirm the usefulness of hyperbaric therapy.
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