We studied the wearing of hard gas permeable contact lenses during decompression in a hyperbaric environment. Twenty-four exposures of three different lens materials were carried out in a hyperbaric chamber. The dry air dive profiles were: 45.72 m (150 ft) for 30 min and 15 min; 22.86 m (75 ft) for 15 min; and 11.43 m (37.5 ft) for 15 min. Bubbles occurred under all lens types; they were seen a...

BACKGROUND People suffer unique health problems in high altitude areas, due to such factors as elevation, aircraft ascent and descent, extreme cold, hypoxia, hypobaria, and low relative humidity. This study was conducted to evaluate ENT morbidity at high altitude. METHODS Serving soldiers introduced to a high altitude environment who presented with various ENT symptoms were examined to identi...

Ultrasound is a safe and effective imaging modality, the use of which is increasing exponentially in many areas of clinical medicine. In this article, we present what is, to our knowledge, the first in-chamber use of an ultrasound machine. We discuss the challenges this presented, how they were addressed and explore the possible clinical applications that in-chamber ultrasound may deliver in hy...

PURPOSE Hemorrhagic cystitis is a recognized possible side effect of therapeutic radiation administered for a variety of pelvic malignancies. Patients may experience pain, bleeding and clot retention. Various palliative treatments, including instillation of alum, silver nitrate and formalin, may be unsuccessful in alleviating patient symptoms. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is often used to treat po...

BACKGROUND Patients with acute carbon monoxide poisoning commonly have cognitive sequelae. We conducted a double-blind, randomized trial to evaluate the effect of hyperbaric-oxygen treatment on such cognitive sequelae. METHODS We randomly assigned patients with symptomatic acute carbon monoxide poisoning in equal proportions to three chamber sessions within a 24-hour period, consisting of eit...

Background. Although N2O has been widely used as an anaesthetic adjuvant its effect on electroencephalographic (EEG) activity is poorly understood because it is usually studied in the presence of additional anaesthetics, including inhaled anaesthetics. We examined the EEG effects of N2O in rats using a hyperbaric chamber that permitted N2O to be the sole anaesthetic. Methods. Rats (n=10) were a...

A previous nonblinded study has suggested beneficial effects from hyperbaric oxygen treatment of superficial partial-thickness radiation burns in human volunteers. This protocol was designed to either confirm or challenge these previous findings in a randomized, blinded format. Twelve healthy, nonsmoking volunteers (7 males, 5 females) participated. All were screened for contraindications to hy...

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is defined as a treatment in which a patient intermittently breathes 100% oxygen while the treatment chamber is pressurized to a pressure greater than sea level (1.0 atmosphere absolute, ATA). In China, for nearly 50 years, HBOT has been used as a primary or adjuvant therapy to treat a variety of diseases. This article mainly reviewed the indications and contrai...

Divers and hyperbaric chamber attendants breathe hyperbaric air routinely. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO(2)) is used therapeutically frequently. Although much is understood about the hemodynamic physiology and gas exchange effects during hyperbaric air and HBO(2) exposure, arterial and pulmonary arterial (PA) catheter data, including blood gas values during hyperbaric air and HBO(2) exposure of normal...