HBOT

Introduction to Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment

Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment (HBOT) is an adjunctive therapy in which the patient breathes 100% oxygen while enclosed in a pressurized chamber at greater-than-normal atmospheric pressure.

While breathing pure O2, the patient's blood plasma becomes saturated, carrying 15 to 20 times the normal amount of oxygen to the body's tissues. The ultimate result is that the body's natural wound-healing mechanisms, which are oxygen dependent, are able to function more efficiently. Around 16% of wound care patients treated may require HBOT.

Approved Indications For Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment

The following is a list of approved indications for use of HBOT in wound care which are currently reimbursed by Medicare, HMOs and other insurance carriers:

Soft tissue radionecrosis
Actinomycosis
Preservation of compromised skin grafts and flaps
Chronic refractory osteomyelitis
Diabetic ulcer of the lower extremities
Crush injury/acute traumatic peripheral ischemia
Progressive necrotizing infections (necrotizing fasciitis)
Acute peripheral arterial insufficiency
Osteoradionecrosis

Other approved indications are:

Emergent Indications

Actinomycosis
Acute carbon monoxide intoxication
Cyanide poisoning
Decompression illness
Gas embolism
Gas gangrene