Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Beneficial in Carbon Monoxide Poisoning?

In two parallel prospective randomized studies, researchers evaluated the effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in patients (age, ≥15 years) with acute isolated carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning who presented to an academic hospital in France between 1989 and 2000. In trial A (mild poisoning), 179 patients with transient loss of consciousness received normobaric oxygen therapy (NBOT) for 6 hours or NBOT for 4 hours plus one session of HBOT. In trial B (severe poisoning), 206 comatose patients (Glasgow Coma Scale score <8) received NBOT for 4 hours plus either one or two HBOT sessions. Each HBOT session lasted 2 hours in a multiplace chamber at 2.0 atmospheres absolute; interval between sessions was 6 to 12 hours. At baseline, 82% o…