title: Effect of hyperbaric oxygen and surgery on experimental gas gangrene.
abstract: An experimental model of clostridial gas gangrene was developed in rats and the therapeutic value of surgical debridement alone versus a combination of surgery and hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) was assessed. The infection was produced by an intramuscular injection of Clostridium perfringens microorganisms. The mortality of untreated rats was 100%. The mortality of the rats treated only with surgery was 37.5% compared to 12.5% when HBO was added to the treatment protocol (p < 0.01). In the group treated with HBO and surgery 82.5% of the animals healed completely and were able to walk normally, whereas the corresponding figure in the rats treated with surgery alone was 12.5% (p < 0.001). In the present experimental setting HBO treatment was an important therapeutic adjunct to surgery reducing both mortality and morbidity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hirn
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Niinikoski
authors.forename: O P
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Lehtonen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005738:Gas Gangrene / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery* / Q000628:therapy*; D006931:Hyperbaric Oxygenation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014945:Wound Healing