The Effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen on Non-acute Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) continues to be a major cause of death and disability throughout the world. The reduced cerebral blood flow secondary to the direct trauma-induced damage deregulates cerebral metabolism and depletes energy stores within the brain. Diffusion barriers to the cellular delivery of oxygen develop and persist. Besides, TBI often leads to intracranial hypertension, which in turn exacerbates diffusion disorders, further reducing cerebral oxygenation, and deteriorates the injury. By increasing the partial pressure of oxygen in blood, reducing intracranial pressure and cerebral edema, Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO2) has been used in early treatment of TBI. However, due to the different severity of TBI, the clinical situation of early insult is complex and unpredictable, ordinarily there was a time delay between TBI and onset of HBO2 treatment averaging more than 2 weeks, especially in patients with severe TBI. Whether the delayed intervention is still effective is controversial.