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Lindenmann J, Porubsky C, Okresa L, Klemen H, Mykoliuk I, Roj A, Koutp A, Kink E, Iberer F, Kovacs G, Krause R, Smolle J, Smolle-Juettner FM. Immediate and Long-Term Effects of Hyperbaric Oxygenation in Patients with Long COVID-19 Syndrome Using SF-36 Survey and VAS Score: A Clinical Pilot Study. J Clin Med 2023; 12:6253. [PMID: 37834897 PMCID: PMC10573231 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12196253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: Long COVID syndrome (LCS) is a heterogeneous long-standing condition following COVID-19 infection. Treatment options are limited to symptomatic measures, and no specific medication has been established. Hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO) has been found to have a positive impact on the treatment of COVID-19 infection. This study evaluates both the feasibility and outcome of supportive HBO in patients with LCS. (2) Methods: Within 17 months, 70 patients with proven LCS were prospectively included. Each patient underwent a cycle of 10 subsequent HBO treatment sessions administered for 75 min at 2.2 atmospheres. Evaluation of the patients was performed before the first and after the last HBO session and 3 months afterwards. Statistical evaluation was based on an intention-to-treat analysis using Fisher's exact test and Student's t-test for paired samples. (3) Results: In total, 59 patients (33 females, 26 males; mean age: 43.9 years; range: 23-74 years; median: 45.0) were evaluable. After HBO, a statistically significant improvement of physical functioning (p < 0.001), physical role (p = 0.01), energy (p < 0.001), emotional well-being (p < 0.001), social functioning (p < 0.001), pain (p = 0.01) and reduced limitation of activities (p < 0.001) was confirmed. (4) Conclusions: Physical functioning and both the physical and emotional role improved significantly and sustainably, suggesting HBO as a promising supportive therapeutic tool for the treatment of LCS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joerg Lindenmann
- Division of Thoracic Surgery and Hyperbaric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria (F.M.S.-J.)
| | - Christian Porubsky
- Division of Thoracic Surgery and Hyperbaric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria (F.M.S.-J.)
| | - Lucija Okresa
- Division of Thoracic Surgery and Hyperbaric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria (F.M.S.-J.)
| | - Huberta Klemen
- Division of Thoracic Surgery and Hyperbaric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria (F.M.S.-J.)
| | - Iurii Mykoliuk
- Division of Thoracic Surgery and Hyperbaric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria (F.M.S.-J.)
| | - Andrej Roj
- Division of Thoracic Surgery and Hyperbaric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria (F.M.S.-J.)
| | - Amir Koutp
- Division of Thoracic Surgery and Hyperbaric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria (F.M.S.-J.)
| | - Eveline Kink
- Department of Internal and Respiratory Medicine, Hospital Graz II, Academic Teaching Hospital of the Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria
| | - Florian Iberer
- Department of Internal and Respiratory Medicine, Hospital Graz II, Academic Teaching Hospital of the Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria
| | - Gabor Kovacs
- Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Lung Vascular Research, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria
- Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria
| | - Robert Krause
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria
| | - Josef Smolle
- Institute of Medical Informatics, Statistics and Documentation, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria
| | - Freyja Maria Smolle-Juettner
- Division of Thoracic Surgery and Hyperbaric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria (F.M.S.-J.)
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