Effects of hyperbaric oxygen on eye tracking abnormalities in males after mild traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Abstract-The effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO 2 ) on eye movement abnormalities in 60 military servicemembers with at least one mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) from combat were examined in a single-center, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, prospective study at the Naval Medicine Operational Training Center. During the 10 wk of the study, each subject was delivered a series of 40, once a day, hyperbaric chamber compressions at a pressure of 2.0 atmospheres absolute (ATA). At each session, subjects breathed one of three preassigned oxygen fractions (10.5%, 75%, or 100%) for 1 h, resulting in an oxygen exposure equivalent to breathing either surface air, 100% oxygen at 1.5 ATA, or 100% oxygen at 2.0 ATA, respectively. Using a standardized, validated, computerized eye tracking protocol, fixation, saccades, and smooth pursuit eye movements were measured just prior to intervention and immediately postintervention. Between-and within-groups testing of pre-and postintervention means revealed no significant differences on eye movement abnormalities and no significant main effect for HBO 2 at either 1.5 ATA or 2.0 ATA equivalent compared with the sham-control. This study demonstrated that neither 1.5 nor 2.0 ATA equivalent HBO 2 had an effect on postconcussive eye movement abnormalities after mTBI when compared with a sham-control.

The Effectiveness of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy as a Treatment for Postconcussion Symptoms

“…These studies were selected as best evidence due to their investigation of the effects of HBOT on postconcussion symptoms, as well as their randomized controlled trial design. Cifu et al 6 Cifu et al 7 Cifu et al 8 Boussi-Gross et al 9 Characteristics Wolf et al 5 Cifu et al 6 Cifu et al 7 Cifu et al 8 Boussi-Gross et al 9 ATA for 90 min given once daily for 30 treatments; however, both groups improved more than would be expected at 6 mo after brain injury.…”

“…Five relevant studies [5][6][7][8][9] were found and analyzed as shown in Table 1 (based on Levels of Evidence, Centre for Evidence Based Medicine, 2009). Wolf et al 5 concluded that there was no effect on postconcussion symptoms after an HBOT treatment (2.4 atmospheres absolute [ATA] breathing 100% oxygen) compared with the sham group (1.3 ATA breathing 21% oxygen).…”

“…To be classified as postconcussion syndrome, participants had to still be suffering symptoms associated with the mild traumatic brain injury for a minimum of 3 months. 5 The Wolf et al 5 study did not indicate a length of time since the injury occurred, the 3 Cifu et al [6][7][8] articles indicated within the last 3 years, and the Boussi-Gross et al 9 study allowed up to 6 years. In addition, the articles treated with differing parameters, as outlined in the previous paragraph.…”

“…In addition, the articles treated with differing parameters, as outlined in the previous paragraph. It is interesting to note that the treatment used by BoussiGross et al 9 was the same as the sham treatment in the Cifu et al [6][7][8] studies. Perhaps there are therapeutic properties associated with lesser ATA that have not been ascertained as of yet.…”

“…[5][6][7][8] • Only 1 study supported the use of HBOT, providing evidence that HBOT can improve brain function in people with postconcussion syndrome. 9…”