Ischemic scleroderma wounds successfully treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been used to treat refractory wounds for the last several decades, with the majority of research focusing on wounds secondary to arterial insufficiency. We describe 2 patients with scleroderma with intractable bilateral extremity ulcers. Local ischemia was identified using transcutaneous oximetry. Each patient then underwent 30 treatments of HBOT at a relative depth of 2.4 ATA with resulting wound healing. This is the first reported successful use of HBOT to treat scleroderma ulcers, and may represent an unrecognized treatment option for these notoriously difficult chronic wounds.
Markus
Y Michael
YM
Division of Rheumatology, Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Canada.
Bell
Mary J
MJ
Evans
A Wayne
AW
D000328:Adult; D001785:Blood Gas Monitoring, Transcutaneous; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006931:Hyperbaric Oxygenation; D007511:Ischemia / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D045743:Scleroderma, Diffuse / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D045745:Scleroderma, Limited / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D012883:Skin Ulcer / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing