HBOT & COVID-19 (Part 1 of 2)

HYPERBARIC MEDICINE IN THE BATTLE AGAINST COVID-19

BY GUEST BLOGGER LORALIE FROMAN

At Holistic Hyperbarics, we’re avidly following the latest scientific research on hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to treat infectious COVID-19 in hospital settings as well as to address “Long Haul Syndrome” in outpatient clinics like ours—and the results are beyond promising.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, first attacks the upper respiratory tract and can cause widespread systemic inflammation, which in turn reduces oxygen levels in the blood and body tissues. As a result, COVID-19 can damage not only the lungs but other organs as well, including the kidneys, liver, and brain, at times leading to severe disease and death.(1)

HBOT is a treatment modality that involves breathing 100% oxygen in a pressurized chamber. The pressurization drives oxygen into the body, thus promoting healing for numerous conditions that, like COVID-19, involve inflammation and a lack of tissue oxygenation (known as “hypoxia”). While outpatient facilities such as Holistic Hyperbarics do not treat acute COVID-19 infection, we’re excited to share the developing story of how hyperbaric technology is being closely studied in the hunt for successful treatments.

O2 to the Rescue

When the pandemic hit in the spring of 2020, hyperbaric medicine doctors, scientists, and clinicians around the globe saw an obvious match between what COVID-19 patients most desperately need and what HBOT supplies in abundance—precious oxygen delivered deep into the cells.

In the early days of the Wuhan outbreak, Chinese doctors used HBOT to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients, with astounding results.(2) Dr. Paul G. Harch, international HBOT expert, telegraphed these results through the hyperbarics community, calling for more rigorous clinical trials, at a time when the virus was still rapidly spreading—with no vaccine or effective treatment in sight.(3) Researchers hypothesized that HBOT’s ability to oxygenate hypoxic tissues could support COVID-19 recovery(4), and doctors and hospitals began publishing case histories and small studies duplicating the Wuhan results.(5,6) Excitement among HBOT proponents grew as well-designed clinical trials recruited patients with the intent to demonstrate HBOT’s efficacy in slowing the disease progression and preventing the need for mechanical ventilation.(7,8)

The Case for Hyperbarics

But HBOT clinicians and doctors didn’t need final study results to see the potential for hyperbaric medicine to help COVID-19 patients. In its Spring 2021 quarterly report, the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) published a scientific paper detailing the ways in which HBOT could benefit COVID patients by relieving hypoxia and reducing inflammation, among other potential mechanisms of action.(9) The UHMS promotes the off-label use of HBOT for COVID-19 and has called for researchers to perform more rigorous studies to further substantiate the efficacy of hyperbaric medicine in treating the disease.

The international scientific community responded to these calls by initiating numerous clinical trials, most with preliminary results expected in 2022.(10) But hyperbaric medicine is so promising in its potential to address severe COVID-19 infection that the SerenaGroup, a global hyperbarics company, is conducting a compassionate use study in hospitals nationwide to test the hypothesis that HBOT can keep patients off ventilators and save lives.(11) Preliminary data from this study show a whopping 85–95% of critically ill patients in the study have not required mechanical ventilation.(12)

Huge Hyperbaric Chamber to Treat COVID-Infected Patients

If the positive clinical outcomes and promising study results were not enough, the Drass Group’s 26-seater hyperbaric chamber—designed specifically for treating patients with viral infections—gives further evidence that HBOT for COVID-19 is a solid bet. The Drass Group, with offices in Italy, Romania, and the Middle East, is marketing the massive AC19 chamber to treat acute COVID-19, noting that: “HBOT combats virus progression, preventing the decline of patient conditions and the necessity for hospitalization or intensive care. Results are especially effective when treatment begins early. No other solution has achieved the consistently high results of HBOT.”(13)

Holistic Hyperbarics on Healing During the Pandemic

We believe that future generations will look back at this era before the routine use of HBOT to help those suffering from COVID-19 and a host of other illnesses as The Dark Ages of Medicine. We salute the brave doctors and scientists exploring the use of HBOT against this global menace, and stand with the UHMS and researchers worldwide who’ve provided the sound scientific rationale and empirical data to support HBOT in addressing this threat to humanity.

Alex Williams, Founder and CEO of Holistic Hyperbarics, is bullish on the future of HBOT in supporting COVID-19 recovery and helping to end the pandemic: “As the science advances, I hope the medical establishment will realize that so much suffering could be alleviated by using the hyperbaric chambers already present in hospitals around the world,” she says. “With highly infectious variants still spreading—devastating lives and crippling healthcare systems—HBOT is the only noninvasive intervention shown to improve COVID patient outcomes.”

Dr. Stella Park, consulting medical advisor to Holistic Hyperbarics, goes so far as to say: “If I were hospitalized with COVID-19, I’d ask my doctor to put me into a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. It’s terrible to think of people dying from lack of oxygen when such a simple and obvious treatment is currently available.”

While HBOT is FDA-approved to treat 14 medical conditions, it is also frequently prescribed off-label—backed by robust studies and clinical evidence—for multiple other conditions that predispose individuals to poor COVID-19 outcomes (e.g., cancer, diabetes, dementia, and other inflammatory illnesses). For this reason, many doctors in the functional medicine and naturopathic community are asking: Could HBOT be deployed as preventive medicine against the virus by treating the underlying inflammation and comorbidities that often lead to severe illness and death?

Holistic Hyperbarics believes the answer is—yes! We envision a future in which HBOT is an adjunct therapy against this disease, in both its acute (infectious) and post-acute (chronic) phases. Research now shows that COVID-19 infection leads one-quarter to one-third of all patients to develop long-term chronic symptoms, including shortness of breath, fatigue, brain fog, memory issues, depression/anxiety, and other neurological symptoms—a condition known as Long COVID or Long Haul Syndrome.(14,15)

In Part 2 of this series, we’ll update you on the research showing HBOT may ameliorate or even eliminate many symptoms of Long COVID. And we’ll introduce you to a long-haul patient of ours who’s experienced profound relief from her debilitating symptoms after a COVID-19 infection. Stay tuned! If you or a loved one has lingering symptoms following a COVID-19 infection, please contact our administrator for individualized recommendations at (510) 648-9496.

SOURCES:

1. The Scientist. “SARS-CoV-2’s Wide-Ranging Effects on the Body.” Web article by Diana Kwon. September 2021. https://www.the-scientist.com/features/sars-cov-2-s-wide-ranging-effects-on-the-body-69109/

2. Kerry Thibodeaux et al. “Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in preventing mechanical ventilation in COVID-19 patients: a retrospective case series.” Journal of Wound Care, 29:Sup5a, S4-S8. May 15, 2020. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32412891/

3. Paul G. Harch. “Hyperbaric oxygen treatment of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) respiratory failure.” Medical Gas Research; 10:61-2. April 13, 2020. https://www.medgasres.com/text.asp?2020/10/2/61/282177/

4. Jukka Ylikoski and Marika Markkanen. “COVID-19 deaths can be reduced – simply and safely!” Medical Gas Research; 10:139. July 1, 2020. https://www.medgasres.com/text.asp?2020/10/3/139/288477/

5. Scott A. Gorenstein et al. “Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for COVID-19 patients with respiratory distress: treated cases versus propensity-matched controls.” Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine: Journal of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, Inc. Vol. 47,3 (2020): 405-413. Third Quarter 2020. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32931666/

6. Anders Kjellberg et al. “Can hyperbaric oxygen safely serve as an anti-inflammatory treatment for COVID-19?” Medical Hypotheses, Vol. 144 (2020): 110224. November 2020. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33254531/

7. Enoch Huang and David Lee, Legacy Health System. “Hyperbaric oxygen for COVID-19 patients with moderate to severe hypoxemia.” Multicenter, randomized control trial. Study start date, March 2021; primary completion date, December 2022. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04619719/

8. Anders Kjellberg and Peter Lindholm, Karolinska Institutet. “Safety and efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen for ARDS in patients with COVID-19.” Randomized, controlled, open label, multicentre clinical trial, Phase 3. Study start date, June 2020; primary completion date, April 2022. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04327505/

9. John J. Feldmeier et al. “Physiologic and biochemical rationale for treating COVID-19 patients with hyperbaric oxygen.” Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine: Journal of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, Inc. Vol. 48,1 (2021): 1-12. First Quarter 2021. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33648028/

10. Hyperbaric Oxygen and Covid-19, Clinical Trials Registered at clincaltrials.gov. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=hbot+hyperbaric&cond=COVID-19+AND+%22COVID-19%22/

11. SerenaGroup, Inc. “The compassionate use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the treatment of COVID-19.” Study start date, April 2020; primary completion date, May 2022. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04386265/

12. Thomas E. Serena, SerenaGroup. Personal communication re: preliminary results of the ongoing compassionate use of HBOT study. August 15, 2021. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04386265/

13. Drass Group, “Treating Coronavirus with HBOT. Learn why hyperbaric oxygen therapy is beating COVID-19: the science and the trials,” website. https://www.drass.tech/hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy-hbot-and-covid-19/

14. Ani Nalbandian et al. “Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome.” Nature Medicine 27, 601–615 (2021). March 2021. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01283-z/

15. FAIR Health, Inc. “A Detailed Study of Patients with Long-Haul COVID: An Analysis of Private Healthcare Claims – A FAIR Health White Paper.” June 15, 2021. jkhttps://www.fairhealth.org/publications/whitepapers/