BACKGROUND:Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is still a controversial alternative strategy for acute stroke. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential long-term efficacy and safety of using HBOT in diabetes patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).

METHODS:In this randomized, prospective, normobaric oxygen therapy (NBOT)-controlled pilot study, 79 diabetes patients suffering from acute ICH were randomized to treat for 60min in a monoplace hyperbaric chamber pressurized with 100% O2 to 2.5-atm absolute (ATA) in the HBOT group or 1.5 ATA in the NBOT group. The primary outcomes included percentage of patients with improvement at one month and six months after onset (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS], Barthel Index, modified Rankin Scale [mRS], Glasgow Outcome Scale [GOS]). The complications of all patients were recorded as well at the final follow-up of six months after onset.

RESULTS:Baseline characteristics were similar in both groups. There were no statistical differences between two groups at one month. However, in the long-term follow-up of six months, a larger percentage of patients in the HBOT group had a good outcome defined by their stroke scores compared with the HBOT group (Barthel Index: 85.1% versus 65.6%, P=0.080; mRS: 89.4% versus 68.8%, P=0.045; GOS: 83.0% versus 62.5%, P=0.073; NIHSS: 80.9% versus 56.2%, P=0.035).

CONCLUSIONS:In this study, early HBOT was found to be safe and effective with regards to the long term neurological consequences of diabetic patients suffering from ICH.