A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included two studies with a total of 141 subjects. The trials were of poor methodological quality and data were not pooled. One trial (n=125) reported no difference in length of stay, mortality, or number of surgeries between the control and HBO-treated groups once these variables were adjusted for the patient's condition. The second trial (n=16) reported mean healing times that were shorter in patients exposed to HBOT (mean: 19.7 days versus 43.8 days, p<0.001) and that fluid requirements were also smaller in the HBOT group (mean: 2.2 ml/kg versus 3.4 ml/kg, no statistical analysis).
Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by limitations in study quality, by imprecise results (few patients and wide confidence intervals) and by inconsistency (variability in results across studies).
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