Abstract
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves host immune response by increasing leukocyte
bactericidal activity (4,5), enhancing the neutrophil oxidative burst, and promoting
leukocyte killing of aerobic gram-positive organisms, including Staphylococcus aureus, and aerobic gram-negative organisms (6). It is cytotoxic to anaerobes. It may
therefore decrease morbidity, mortality, and the need for operative intervention in
various necrotizing infections. It has proved effective as adjunctive therapy in animal
models of chronic S. aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa osteomyelitis (7). In addition to enhanced bacterial killing, HBO2T also raises decreased oxygen tensions
found in infected bone to normal or even above normal levels. Hyperbaric oxygen
therapy enhances the transport of aminoglycoside antibiotics across the cell wall
(gentamicin, tobramycin, amikacin and perhaps others) increasing the efficacy of
these drugs which may be inhibited in vivo by the local tissue hypoxia common in
many patients with severe wounds (8).