scholarly journals Effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on patients with spinal cord injury: A systematic review and meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Author(s):  
Liyi Huang ◽  
Qing Zhang ◽  
Chenying Fu ◽  
Zejun Liang ◽  
Feng Xiong ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: The effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) for spinal cord injury (SCI) are controversial. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of HBO therapy on motor function, sensory function, and psychology after SCI. METHOD: We searched the following databases: Medline, Embase, PubMed, Ovid, Cochrane library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan Fang, and VIP up to May 2020. We included Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) which investigated patients with SCI received HBO during hospitalization. Motor function, sensory function, and psychology status were measured by commonly used scales including American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) motor score, Modified Barthel Index (MBI), ASIA sensory score, Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA). We performed a meta-analysis by calculating mean difference (MD) to determine the effect of HBO on three levels of function on patients with SCI. We evaluated heterogeneity by I2 test, and I2> 50% was significant. RESULTS : A total of 1746 studies were identified initially, and 11 studies were included, involving 875 participants. HBO therapy significantly improved the ASIA motor score (MD 15.84, 95% CI 9.04 to 22.64, I2= 87%). Six trails suggested that HBO therapy statistically promoted ASIA sensory score (MD 66.30, 95% CI 53.44 to 79.16, I2= 95%). The other four trails suggested that HBO therapy statistically increased the light touch score (MD 9.27, 95% CI 3.89 to 14.65, I2= 91%) and needling score (MD 10.01, 95% CI 8.60 to 11.43, I2= 95%), respectively. HBO therapy was implicated in the significant improvement of MBI (MD 13.80, 95% CI 10.65 to 16.94, I2= 0%). HBO therapy also decreased the HAMA (MD -2.37, 95% CI -2.72 to -2.02, I2= 0%) and HAMD (MD -3.74, 95% CI -5.82 to -1.65, I2= 90%). CONCLUSIONS: HBO therapy may improve motor function, sensory function and psychology after SCI compared to conventional treatments. More high-quality, large sample size RCTs are needed to support these perspectives.

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (07) ◽  
pp. 1593-1616
Author(s):  
Yang Zheng ◽  
Shangfeng Qi ◽  
Fengqing Wu ◽  
Jintao Hu ◽  
Ronglin Zhong ◽  
...  

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a catastrophic disease associated with damaged neurological structures and has become a significant social and economic burden for the health care system and patients’ families. The use of Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) to treat SCI has been increasing in recent years. This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effectiveness of CHM for patients with SCI. Therefore, we included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of CHM for SCI in seven databases. A total of 26 studies involving 1961 participants were included in this study. No serious heterogeneity or publication bias was observed across each study. The results showed that significant improvements of the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA)-grading improvement rate ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]), clinical effective rate ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]), ASIA motor score ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]), ASIA sensory score (total) ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]), ASIA sensory score (light touch) ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]), ASIA sensory score (pinprick) ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]), and activities of daily living (ADL) score ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]) in CHM group compared with the control group. Among the CHM groups, Buyang Huanwu decoction was the most frequently prescribed herbal formula, while Astragalus membranaceus was the most commonly used single herb. In addition, there were no serious and permanent adverse effects in the two groups. The methodological quality of the most included RCTs was poor and the quality of evidence for the main outcomes was from very low to moderate according to the GRADE system. Current evidence suggests that CHM is an effective and safe treatment for SCI and could be treated as a complementary and alternative option with few side effects. However, considering the low quality, small size, and high risk of the studies identified in this meta-analysis, higher methodological quality, rigorously designed RCTs with large sample sizes are needed to confirm the results.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-Li Chen ◽  
Bei-Lei Zhang ◽  
Chang Meng ◽  
Hui-Bin Huang ◽  
Bin Du

Abstract Objective Conservative oxygen strategy is recommended in acute illness while its benefit in ICU patients remains controversial. Therefore, we sought to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine such oxygen strategies’ effect and safety in ICU patients. Methods We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane database from inception to Feb 15, 2021. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared a conservative oxygen strategy to a conventional strategy in critically ill patients were included. Results were expressed as mean difference (MD) and risk ratio (RR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). The primary outcome was the longest follow-up mortality. Heterogeneity, sensitivity analysis, and publication bias were also investigated to test the robustness of the primary outcome. Results We included seven trials with a total of 5265 patients. In general, the conventional group had significantly higher SpO2 or PaO2 than that in the conservative group. No statistically significant differences were found in the longest follow-up mortality (RR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.97–1.10; I2=18%; P=0.34) between the two oxygen strategies when pooling studies enrolling subjects with various degrees of hypoxemia. Further sensitivity analysis showed that ICU patients with mild-to-moderate hypoxemia (PaO2/FiO2 >100 mmHg) had significantly lower mortality (RR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.05–1.46; I2=0%; P=0.01) when receiving conservative oxygen therapy. These findings were also confirmed in other study periods. Additional, secondary outcomes of the duration of mechanical ventilation, the length of stay in the ICU and hospital, change in sequential organ failure assessment score, and adverse events were comparable between the two strategies. Conclusions Our findings indicate that conservative oxygen therapy strategy did not improve the prognosis of the overall ICU patients. The subgroup of ICU patients with mild to moderate hypoxemia might obtain prognosis benefit from such a strategy without affecting other critical clinical results.


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