Measurement of peripheral arterial tonometry in patients with diabetic foot ulcers during courses of hyperbaric oxygen treatment.

INTRODUCTION: Treatment of diabetic foot ulcers is complex and often protracted. Hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) improves wound healing in diabetic ulcers and serves as an important adjunct to regular diabetic wound care. Endothelial dysfunction plays a central role in diabetes-related vascular complications and may be evaluated by a non-invasive technique called peripheral arterial tonometry which measures a reactive hyperaemia index (RHI). We hypothesized that endothelial function measured by peripheral arterial tonometry is impaired in diabetic foot ulcer patients and that HBOT might improve endothelial function. METHODS: Endothelial function was prospectively assessed by peripheral arterial tonometry in 22 subjects with diabetic foot ulcers and 17 subjects without diabetes during courses of HBOT. Endothelial function was evaluated before first (baseline) and 30th treatments, and at 90-day follow-up. Serum insulin growth factor-I (IGF-I) concentrations were determined by immunoassay. Results were compared to 23 healthy subjects. RESULTS: No baseline differences were found in endothelial function between subjects with diabetes, HBOT patients without-diabetes and healthy control subjects (RHI; 1.26, 1.61 and 1.81, respectively). No significant changes in RHI were found in patients with (P = 0.17) or without (P = 0.30) diabetes during courses of HBOT. At 90-day follow-up IGF-I was significantly reduced in the subjects with diabetes (P = 0.001) and unchanged in the group without diabetes (P = 0.99). CONCLUSIONS: We found no significant differences in RHI between subjects with diabetic foot ulcers and patients without diabetes, nor improvement in endothelial function assessed by peripheral arterial tonometry during courses of HBOT.

A single session of hyperbaric oxygen therapy demonstrates acute and long-lasting neuroplasticity effects in humans: a replicated, randomized controlled clinical trial.

PURPOSE: Animal studies have demonstrated anti-inflammatory, and anti-nociceptive properties of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). However, physiological data are scarce in humans. In a recent experimental study, the authors used the burn injury (BI) model observing a decrease in secondary hyperalgesia areas (SHA) in the HBOT-group compared to a control-group. Surprisingly, a long-lasting neuroplasticity effect mitigating the BI-induced SHA-response was seen in the HBOT-preconditioned group. The objective of the present study, therefore, was to confirm our previous findings using an examiner-blinded, block-randomized, controlled, crossover study design. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Nineteen healthy subjects attended two BI-sessions with an inter-session interval of ≥28 days. The BIs were induced on the lower legs by a contact thermode (12.5 cm2, 47C°, 420 s). The subjects were block-randomized to receive HBOT (2.4 ATA, 100% O2, 90 min) or ambient conditions ([AC]; 1 ATA, 21% O2), dividing cohorts equally into two sequence allocations: HBOT-AC or AC-HBOT. All sensory assessments performed during baseline, BI, and post-intervention phases were at homologous time points irrespective of sequence allocation. The primary outcome was SHA, comparing interventions and sequence allocations. RESULTS: Data are mean (95% CI). During HBOT-sessions a mitigating effect on SHA was demonstrated compared to AC-sessions, ie, 18.8 (10.5-27.0) cm2 vs 32.0 (20.1-43.9) cm2 (P=0.021), respectively. In subjects allocated to the sequence AC-HBOT a significantly larger mean difference in SHA in the AC-session vs the HBOT-session was seen 25.0 (5.4-44.7) cm2 (P=0.019). In subjects allocated to the reverse sequence, HBOT-AC, no difference in SHA between sessions was observed (P=0.55), confirming a preconditioning, long-lasting (≥28 days) effect of HBOT. CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrate that a single HBOT-session compared to control is associated with both acute and long-lasting mitigating effects on BI-induced SHA, confirming central anti-inflammatory, neuroplasticity effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Associations of Plasma Nitrite, L-Arginine and Asymmetric Dimethylarginine With Morbidity and Mortality in Patients With Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections.

BACKGROUND: The nitric oxide system could play an important role in the pathophysiology related to necrotizing soft tissue infection (NSTI). Accordingly, we investigated the association between plasma nitrite level at admission and the presence of septic shock in patients with NSTI. We also evaluated the association between nitrite, asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), L-arginine, L-arginine/ADMA ratio, and outcome. METHODS: We analyzed plasma from 141 NSTI patients taken upon hospital admission. The severity of NSTI was assessed by the presence of septic shock, Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II, Sepsis-Related Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, use of renal replacement therapy (RRT), amputation, and 28-day mortality. RESULTS: No difference in nitrite levels was found between patients with and without septic shock (median 0.82 µmol/L [interquartile range (IQR) 0.41-1.21] vs. 0.87 µmol/L (0.62-1.24), P = 0.25). ADMA level was higher in patients in need of RRT (0.64 µmol/L (IQR 0.47-0.90) vs. (0.52 µmol/L (0.34-0.70), P = 0.028), and ADMA levels correlated positively with SAPS II (rho = 0.32, P = 0.0002) and SOFA scores (rho = 0.22, P = 0.01). In a logistic regression analysis, an L-arginine/ADMA ratio below 101.59 was independently associated with 28-day mortality, odds ratio 6.03 (95% confidence interval, 1.41-25.84), P = 0.016. None of the other analyses indicated differences in the NO system based on differences in disease severity. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with NSTI, we found no difference in baseline nitrite levels according to septic shock. High baseline ADMA level was associated with the use of RRT and patients with a low baseline L-arginine/ADMA ratio were at higher risk of dying within 28 days after hospital admission.