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Evidence summaries

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

There is insufficient evidence to establish whether the administration of hyperbaric oxygen to patients with carbon monoxide poisoning reduces the incidence of adverse neurologic outcomes. Level of evidence: "D"

A Cochrane review 5[Abstract] included 6 trials with 1361 participants. Two trials found a beneficial effect of HBO for the reduction of neurologic sequelae at one month, while four others did not. Pooled random effects meta-analysis did not suggest a significant benefit from HBOT (OR for neurological deficits 0.78, 95% CI 0.54 to 1.12)

Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by study limitations, inconsistency and imprecise results.

    References

    • Buckley NA, Juurlink DN, Isbister G et al. Hyperbaric oxygen for carbon monoxide poisoning. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2011;(4):CD002041. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords