What are the chances of success? | Hyperbaric oxygen therapy

What are the chances of success?

Since there are not yet many studies on the effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, HBO is a controversial procedure. This circumstance also forms the basis for the fact that the statutory health insurance companies do not pay for HBO as far as possible. For the therapy of tinnitus, for example, there is no evidence regarding the success of HBO.

However, it is assumed that positive effects are achieved primarily in acute situations and that the psychologically expected success plays a major role. On the other hand, there are positive studies available for the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in chronic osteomyelitis, which has previously been treated unsuccessfully with standard therapies (both surgical and antibiotic), which consider a therapeutic success likely. The same applies to the treatment of diabetic foot wounds.

Here too, there are studies that show that chronic wounds heal better with treatment with HBO. Overall, the probability of success of treatment with HBO cannot yet be reliably proven by studies.However, it represents a potentially effective alternative if the standard procedures fail.