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Ocular effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy

Eye volume 38, pages 1031–1033 (2024)Cite this article

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Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is a therapeutic procedure that involves the exposure of a patient to 100% oxygen at pressures greater than atmospheric pressure at sea level [1]. This elevated concentration of oxygen can enhance the body’s natural healing process and is used to treat various medical conditions. The fundamental premise behind HBOT is to increase the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream, thereby accelerating the healing of tissues and enhancing the body’s innate ability to repair itself [1]. HBOT is typically administered inside a specially designed chamber where the patient breathes pure oxygen. The elevated atmospheric pressure inside the chamber can be adjusted depending on the specific treatment requirement [1].

HBOT has gained considerable recognition in the medical community for its therapeutic applications. The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Society, a leading authority in this field, has officially endorsed HBOT for 14 medical conditions supported by scientific and clinical evidence [2]. Preliminary studies in ophthalmology suggest potential ‘off-label’ safe applications of HBOT, including central retinal artery occlusion, traumatic optic neuropathy, and retinal detachment [3]. Conversely, HBOT was found to not be beneficial in treating glaucomatous eyes and may come along with potential side effects such as myopic shifts [4]. We have summarized the key ophthalmic HBOT literature in Table 1.

Table 1 Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in ophthalmology literature.
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Authors and Affiliations

  1. San Raffaele Scientific Institute and Vita-Salute University, Milan, Italy

    Maria Chiara Rivolta

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Ethan Waisberg

  3. Moorfields Eye Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK

    Ethan Waisberg

  4. Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Joshua Ong

  5. University College Dublin School of Medicine, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland

    Mouayad Masalkhi

  6. Center for Space Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Andrew G. Lee

  7. Department of Ophthalmology, Blanton Eye Institute, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA

    Andrew G. Lee

  8. The Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA

    Andrew G. Lee

  9. Departments of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Neurosurgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Andrew G. Lee

  10. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA

    Andrew G. Lee

  11. University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Andrew G. Lee

  12. Texas A&M College of Medicine, Texas, TX, US

    Andrew G. Lee

  13. Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA

    Andrew G. Lee

Authors
  1. Maria Chiara Rivolta
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  2. Ethan Waisberg
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  3. Joshua Ong
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  4. Mouayad Masalkhi
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  5. Andrew G. Lee
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Contributions

MR: writing; EW, JO, and MM: writing and intellectual support; AGL: review and intellectual support.

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Correspondence to Andrew G. Lee.

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Rivolta, M.C., Waisberg, E., Ong, J. et al. Ocular effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Eye 38, 1031–1033 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-023-02840-1

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