title: Hyperbaric oxygenation therapy for crush injuries reduces the risk of complications: research report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) therapy has been adopted for crush injuries, but there are few studies supporting its use. We therefore investigated the effects of HBO2 on management of patients with complicated crush injuries.
  
  
  METHODS
  This historic cohort study included patients with crush injuries and open fractures with severities greater than or equal to Gustilo class IIIA. We divided the patients into two groups: Control and HBO2. The control group received conventional treatment, while the HBO2 group received conventional treatment plus HBO2. We compared the groups with respect to the incidence of infection, need for additional surgery, and length of intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stays.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 16 patients in the HBO2 group and 13 in the control group. There were no patients with infections in the HBO2 group, whereas in the control group six patients had infections and five needed another drainage procedure. These incidences were significantly lower in the HBO2 group (p = 0.003 and 0.013). However, the durations of ICU and hospital stays were similar across the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HBO2 is effective in the management of crush injuries from the viewpoint of reducing complications and reoperations. These observations should be verified in additional studies with larger sample sizes because the patient number is limited.
authors.forename: Noriaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Izumi
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Toyoda
authors.forename: Tomoaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Doi
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kumada
authors.forename: Hisaaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Shozo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Kunihiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shirai
authors.forename: Norihide
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kanda
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ogura
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003444:Crush Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005597:Fractures, Open / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D006931:Hyperbaric Oxygenation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D058028:Research Report; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D058106:Wound Closure Techniques; D014946:Wound Infection / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy*