Litigation

Oxygen Therapy Following Hypoxic Brain Injury May Cause Further Damage

By Michael Kaplen

The current standard practice of giving infants and children 100 percent oxygen to prevent brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation may actually inflict additional harm, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

Brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation, known as hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, is one of the most common causes of death and long-term neurological damage among infants and children. This can happen during birth trauma, near drowning and other crises.

The UT Southwestern researchers found that mice treated with less than a minute of 100 percent oxygen after a hypoxic-ischemic brain injury suffered far greater rates of brain-cell death and coordination problems similar to cerebral palsy than those allowed to recover with room air.  The study suggests suggests 100 percent oxygen resuscitation may further damage an already compromised brain.

I wonder what the implications of this study are to those receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy following a traumatic brain injury.

Full post as published by Brain Injury News and Information on July 03, 2008 (boomark / email).