Author Description

The paper is intended to provide an indication of opinions on the effectiveness or efficacy of HBOT applications reached in recent health technology assessments and systematic reviews and of selected findings reported in the literature. The conclusions from systematic reviews and health technology assessments are generally similar to the earlier findings. There is support for use of HBOT for the following conditions: Decompression sickness, air and gas embolism, gas gangrene. There is conditional support for use of HBOT in: CO poisoning, osteoradionecrosis, diabetic wounds, necrotising soft tissue infections. Tiere is no consensus on support for use of HBOT in: osteomyelitis, thermal burns, soft tissue radionecrosis, compromised skin grafts and flaps, dental implants following radiotherapy, retinal artery occlusion. Use of HBOT is not supported for: crush injury, non-diabetic wounds, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, or for a large number of conditions identified in one of the health technology assessments. A general theme in the systematic reviews and health technology assessments is the continuing lack of good quality evidence in support of most HBOT applications.