TO STUDY THE ROLE AND EFFICACY OF NEUROHYPERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH HEAD INJURY IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL.

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major health problem worldwide, resulting in signicant morbidity, mortality and the survivors are often left with cognitive and behavioural disabilities. Various treatment options in TBI are focussed on altering the secondary brain injury. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is one such adjunctive treatments for TBI, which addresses the TBI induced ischemia and hypoxia. The present study was conducted to assess the role and efcacy of HBOT in patients with head injury mainly in terms of improvement of consciousness and cognitive functions. The study also assessed the level of disability and the level of recovery in patients with traumatic brain injury, immediately post therapy. A total of 120 patients with mild and moderate TBI were included in the present study, 60 patients each in the study or HBOT group and the control group. Depending upon the clinical and radiological ndings of the patients, the HBOT/study group received medical management and HBOT, whereas the control group received only medical management. The improvement in level of consciousness was assessed by Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score, Full outline of Unresponsiveness (FOUR) score. The level of cognitive improvement is assessed by the Ranchos Los Amigos scale and Montreal Cognitive assessment score. The level of disability was assessed by Disability Rating Scale (DRS) and the level of recovery was assessed by Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) and Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended (GOS-E) The HBOT group showed signicant improvement in the level of consciousness when compared to the control group. In terms of cognitive improvement, mixed results were obtained. However, there was no signicant difference in the level of disability and recovery post therapy in both the groups.