Parents who have a child with a disability, especially a severe disability that significantly limits function and/or quality of life may want to consider any therapy that offers hope of cure or significant improvement.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) means breathing oxygen at high presuure. In HBOT, people breathe 100 percent oxygen inside a hyperbaric chamber. A hyperbaric chamber is a sealed room where oxygen or air is pressurised to 25 to 75 percent above normal air pressure at sea level. The child and a caregiver spend time (usually one hour) in the chamber.
Cerebral palsy is a permanent physical condition that affects movement and posture and can cause a range of other problems. It is caused by damage to, or lack of development in a part of the brain that controls movement. Cerebral palsy is the most common physical disability in childhood occurring in 1 in every 500 babies. Cerebral palsy is often called 'CP' for short. For more information, see the cerebral palsy page on this website [1].
The theory underlying the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in cerebral palsy is that there are cells within the damaged brain that are living but are not active and are not working as they should. The hope is that providing an increase in the supply of oxygen to these cells will switch them on again so they start working and improve the child's function. Studies in animals have shown that there are changes in the electrical or metabolic activity of brain cells.
There have been a few studies in children with cerebral palsy. International consensus is that hyperbaric oxygen therapy is not helpful for children with cerebral palsy.
First, an assessment is necessary to look for problems that could happen to the child during hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Children who have ear problems may need to have an operation to insert grommets (also called ventilation tubes) before treatment. Grommets prevent ear pain or a burst ear drum in the hyperbaric chamber. The operation involves a general anaesthetic with the associated risks.
An adult must be with the child while they are in the chamber. The adult is there to give help in an emergency such as an epileptic seizure or vomiting. Once the child and their caregiver are in the chamber, the chamber is closed and the pressure raised to the level selected for the treatment.
Yes, things can go wrong.
Changes in pressure can result in pain or in damage to the ear drum. In the published studies, ear problems were relatively common and in one study over half the children needed an operation to insert grommets.
If a child vomits in the chamber there is a higher risk of choking on the vomit (aspiration). The high pressure tends to force the vomit back into the airway.
In the published studies up to 12 in 100 children had seizures during treatment. There is the possibility of breathing in vomit if the child vomits during a seizure.
If parents are planning to use this option for their child, they should carefully consider the following points:
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should carefully consider whether you want to take these risks for an unproven treatment.
Justine Laureau, Christelle Pons, Guy Letellier, Raphaël Gross. Hyperbaric oxygen in children with cerebral palsy: A systematic review of effectiveness and safety. PLOS ONE(Oct 2022). https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0276126 [2]
Novak, I., Morgan, C., Fahey, M. et al. State of the evidence traffic lights 2019: Systematic review of interventions for preventing and treating children with cerebral palsy. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep (2020) 20: 3. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11910-020-1022-z [3]
This page last reviewed 17 December 2020.
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Links
[1] https://kidshealth.org.nz/cerebral-palsy-overview
[2] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0276126
[3] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11910-020-1022-z
[4] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1440-1630.12573
[5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18039243/
[6] https://kidshealth.org.nz/contact?from=http%3A%2F%2Fkidshealth.org.nz%2Fprint%2F1888%3Flanguage%3Dko