Hyperbaric Center

Acute Traumatic Ischemias: Crush Injury, Compartment Syndrome

Acute traumatic ischemia occurs when an injury interrupts blood flow to an extremity. Examples are open fractures that tear major arteries, or crush injuries and skeletal muscle compartment syndromes which starve the microcirculation. This can lead to infection, nonhealing wounds, united fractures, and necrosis, which can require amputation. Problems are compounded in compromised patients such as those with diabetes, malnutrition, advanced peripheral vascular disease, or collagen vascular diseases.

Signs of it are pain, edema, anuria (stopped urine formation) pallor and no distal pulses.

Benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Traumatic Ischemias

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at 2 ATA increases blood oxygen content by 25%, but increases plasma and tissue oxygen tension 10-fold. The net effect is a threefold increase in oxygen diffusion through tissue fluids.

Increased oxygen reduces edema through vasoconstriction, which further promotes oxygenation. Increased oxygen tensions in hypoxic tissues allow healing and helps prevent spread of infection and damage to adjacent, non-involved tissue, decreasing complication rates and cost of management.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy speeds demarcation of non-viable tissue, and reduces reperfusion injury by preventing lipid peroxidation, neutrophill adherence, and free radical buildup.