Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy for acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury.

ABSTRACT

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective study of spinal cord injury (SCI) treated with and without hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy. OBJECTIVES: To report on the use of HBO in spinal cord injury. SETTING: Neurosurgical Unit, Tokyo, Japan. METHODS: Thirty-four cases of hyperextension spinal cord injury without bone damage and previous history of surgical intervention were divided into two groups, with (HBO) or without (non-HBO) therapy. The neurological findings at admission and their outcomes were evaluated by means of Neurological Cervical Spine Scale (NCSS)1 and the average improvement rates in individual groups were compared. RESULTS: The improvement rate ranged from 100% to 27.3% with the mean value of 75. 2% in the HBO group, while these values were 100%, 25.0% and 65.1% respectively in the non HBO group. CONCLUSION: In the HBO group, the improvement rate indicated effectiveness in acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury.