In a world full of acronyms—NASA, scuba, and, yes, COVID, among others—it may seem imponderable that one of the most well-known has gone largely unmentioned during discussions of the novel coronavirus. I mean, how could HBO get left behind?
The answer is both complicated and promising. But at its heart is this: As it pertains to the virus, HBO is most certainly not something you can find with your remote.
Rather, we’re talking about the acronym for a treatment that we’ve used for nearly a century to address various maladies: hyperbaric oxygen, or HBO in the medical shorthand. And although the research is still young, the early results from HBO’s use on COVID-19 patients range from encouraging to surprisingly strong.
A little about the basics: During HBO treatment, a patient is placed in a sealed single- or multi-person chamber, where high levels of oxygen are delivered to the lungs, and then absorbed into the bloodstream under pressure. This is very similar to what happens when a scuba diver breathes oxygen from a tank at depth—more oxygen enters the tissues. And HBO has been found over the years to advance healing and successfully treat a variety of conditions, including burns, soft-tissue infections, and chronic wounds. It has a long track record of safety.
Read the full article here.