Oxygen and wound Healing in Hyperbaric Facility
Studies* reveal that oxygen plays a critical role in wound healing. The studies revealed that increasing the oxygen levels improved the healing of wounds. Knighton showed that oxygen acts as an antibiotic, which allows white blood cells to form oxygen radicals that destroy bacterial cell walls. Other researchers have been able to show that oxygen and certain antibiotics act synergistically to destroy bacteria. Sheffield* demonstrated that wounds heal better when hyperbaric oxygen is used.
Hyperbaric facility is a medical facility where Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment is given to patients. There are two types of hyperbaric chambers at the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Centers. There are Mono place chambers for single patients and there are Multi place Chambers for more than one patient.
At a Hyperbaric facility you should have nurses trained on Hyperbaric Medicine Training Courses. There are Hyperbaric CME courses that are available that you can take at a facility or online. There are also NON-CME Hyperbaric courses that you can take where you do not get certification but you get the knowledge from the training.
Hyperbaric Technicians are at times individuals with EMT background or previous military hyperbaric training. They are then trained on HBOT CME or HBOT NON CME education. These individuals help with wound care, monitor the hyperbaric treatments, and perform maintenance on the hyperbaric chambers.
Education of the patient and their family at a Hyperbaric facility improves patient health outcomes. It does this by helping to promote a healthy behavior and involving the patient in care and care decisions.
Patient/family education is ideally started prior to initiating hyperbaric oxygen treatment, and continued and reinforced throughout the entire treatment course. Effective patient education is a necessary component of Wound Management using Hyperbaric Treatment and has proven instrumental in decreasing hospital days while improving clinical outcomes.
- Pai, M and Hunt TK “Effect of varying oxygen tensions on healing open wounds.”
- Knighton, Dr. “Oxygen tension regulates the expression of angiogenesis factor by macrophages.”
- Sheffield PJ :”Tissue Oxygen measurements”
- Excerpts for the article are taken from the book Hyperbaric facility safety: A Practical Guide by Wilbur T. Workman
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