The effects of hyperbaric oxygen dosing on the delayed neuropsychiatric sequalae of carbon monoxide poisoning

INTRODUCTION: . METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of all patients treated in a large regional hyperbaric referral facility over the past 30 years, and identified patients displaying any new cognitive, motor or psychiatric symptoms within 2-40 days from exposure to carbon monoxide - any of which was defined as delayed neuropsychiatric sequelae. Excluded were patients not complying with the full prescribed treatment course or those lacking a full medical record for at least a year following exposure. RESULTS: = 0.023). DISCUSSION: protocol suggests that achieving a higher initial partial pressure of oxygen is critical to effectively interrupting the inflammatory cascades associated with carbon monoxide toxicity. Because additional sessions did not confer a statistically significant benefit, meeting this initial therapeutic threshold appears more impactful than treatment frequency. Notably, the neuroprotective benefits of the higher-pressure regimen were sustained even among high-risk patients presenting with seizures. CONCLUSIONS: in the initial hyperbaric oxygen session, is associated with superior neuroprotective outcomes, while the overall number of sessions is not.