Effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on quality of life in maxillofacial patients with type III osteoradionecrosis.
OBJECTIVE
Over a 4-year period, 18 patients with type III osteoradionecrosis that developed an average of 55 months after radiotherapy treatment for head and neck cancers were referred for hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO(2)).


METHODS
Participants completed a questionnaire battery before and after HBO(2), including the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Core 30, the EORTC Head and Neck 35, and the Medical Outcomes Short Form 36.


RESULTS
The EORTC Core 30 questionnaire indicated significant improvements in "emotional functioning" and "insomnia" (P ≤ .01 and P ≤ .01). An improvement also was found in the "social eating" (P ≤ .01) and "teeth" (P ≤ .01) domains of the EORTC Head and Neck 35 questionnaire. These beneficial outcomes might be explained in part by the social environment of being in a specific treatment group with similar patients. However, the Medical Outcomes Short Form 36 indicated a significant decrease in "social functioning" (P ≤ .01). The patient group in this study did not undergo any surgical intervention between the 2 time points and no other interventions could be connected with the improvements, particularly in relation to "teeth." In addition, clinical follow-up confirmed the stabilization of the patients' clinical conditions.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings of this study support the hypothesis that HBO(2) has positive physiologic and psychological effects on some factors for this patient group.
The Hyperbaric Medical Centre, Derriford, Plymouth, Devon, UK. sharding.jb@gmail.com
Sam
S
Harding
David
D
Courtney
Simon
S
Hodder
Philip
P
Bryson
D001294:Attitude to Health; D003817:Dentition; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000523:psychology; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D006931:Hyperbaric Oxygenation / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010025:Osteoradionecrosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011788:Quality of Life; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D016896:Treatment Outcome