What Is a Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber?

Hyperbaric oxygen chamber is a special medical equipment for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. According to different pressurized media, it is divided into air pressurized chamber and pure oxygen pressurized chamber. ^[1]

The scope of application of the hyperbaric oxygen chamber is very wide, and it is mainly used for the treatment of anaerobic infection, CO poisoning, embolism, decompression disease, ischemic hypoxic encephalopathy, brain trauma, and cerebrovascular disease. ^[1]

Chinese name: Hyperbaric oxygen chamber
Foreign name: hyperbaric oxygen chamber

Product Category: Class III medical devices
basic skills: Rescue and treatment of diseases such as ischemia and hypoxia

Basic introduction of hyperbaric oxygen chamber

It is usually composed of cabin, air supply and exhaust (oxygen) system, air conditioning system and control system.
The pressurizing medium is air or medical oxygen. The maximum working pressure of air pressurization is not more than 0.3MPa, and the maximum working pressure of oxygen pressurization is not more than 0.2MPa.
Air pressurization is divided into single-person oxygen cabin and multi-person oxygen cabin according to the number of persons treated in the cabin.
The oxygen pressurized cabin has a number of people, and it is usually divided into an adult medical oxygen cabin and an infant (including newborn) medical oxygen cabin. ^[1]

Examples of Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers

Medical multi-person air pressurized oxygen cabin, medical single-person air pressurized oxygen cabin, medical adult oxygen pressurized oxygen cabin, infant oxygen chamber ^[1]

How the hyperbaric oxygen chamber works

Oxygen is carried by the blood, and when it enters the lungs, it is immediately dissolved in the blood. The dissolution process is like putting a spoonful of sugar into the water and it is quickly dissolved. The amount of dissolved oxygen in the blood of normal people is related to the pressure of the environment. We live in an atmosphere of atmospheric pressure. Since the oxygen in the air is only 1/5, there is very little dissolved oxygen in human blood, which cannot meet the needs of the human body. Oxygen easily enters and travels with red blood cells, and the amount of oxygen dissolved in the blood is very small but very important. Because the oxygen carried by red blood cells is dozens of times higher than the oxygen dissolved in blood, normal people can meet the oxygen absorption of oxygen transport. Such as the hyperbaric oxygen experiment: a scientist experiment in the Netherlands in 1956. The piglet's blood was extracted from the arteries, and then the saline was injected into the vein. Then it was put into the hyperbaric oxygen chamber and added with three atmospheric pressure oxygen. The piglet lived in this hyperbaric oxygen chamber for 15 minutes and re-infused the blood The piglet's body is still alive and well. The piglet lives on dissolved oxygen. Scientists named this experiment as bloodless life. After many experiments, it was concluded that the oxygen dissolved in the blood in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber increased with the pressure of the oxygen chamber. The oxygen dissolved in the blood increased by 14 times after absorbing pure oxygen in the oxygen chamber at 2 atmospheres, and increased 21 times at 3 atmospheres.

Application of hyperbaric oxygen chamber

Hyperbaric oxygen is suitable for the following diseases: gas, hydrogen sulfide, biogas and other harmful gas poisoning, cerebral thrombosis, cerebral hemorrhage, brain trauma, neuritis, vasculitis, diabetic gangrene, difficult to heal ulcers, poor fetal development, neonatal asphyxia, Acute embolism, decompression sickness, altitude sickness, sudden deafness, Meniere syndrome, vertigo. Compared with ordinary oxygen inhalation, hyperbaric oxygen has greater strength and better effect. It can directly use the amount of oxygen to solve the problem of hypoxia. Hyperbaric oxygen also has antibacterial effects. ^[2]

Treatment of gas poisoning

Inhaled carbon monoxide is combined with red blood cells and red blood cells. After the combination, the ability of red blood cells to transport oxygen is squeezed out. People normally rely on oxygen to survive, and the oxygen in the body is replaced by carbon monoxide after gas poisoning. The brain is most in need of oxygen. The symptoms of gas poisoning are all manifestations of the nervous system. Mild symptoms such as dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, weakness, and coma in severe cases are all related to brain hypoxia. The binding capacity of carbon monoxide and red blood cells is stronger than that of oxygen. Placing patients with gas poisoning in fresh air, because the oxygen content in the atmosphere only accounts for 1/5 of the air, the excretion of gas poisoning takes 10-20 hours, and After sending a gas poisoned patient into the hyperbaric oxygen chamber, the amount of oxygen inhaled by the patient is much greater than the oxygen content in the air. Many very heavy patients wake up before the treatment is finished, and the poisoning symptoms can be obtained after 40-50 minutes. ease.

Treatment of cerebral thrombosis

The advantage of entering the hyperbaric oxygen chamber is that blood is supplied from the surrounding normal brain tissue to the lesion area. Poured blood and reverse blood phenomenon: Normal brain tissue cells are sensitive to the drug after taking the medicine that expands blood vessels to patients with cerebral thrombosis, and the response in the lesion area is not very sensitive, and the blood vessels are not expanded. The blood from the brain also changes from normal brain tissue. The phenomenon of flowing through the expanded area without passing through the diseased area is called down blood. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has the effect of reverse blood.

Hyperbaric chamber side effects

Conventional HBO treatment will not have any side effects. If the staff does not operate properly, do not follow the operating procedures, or do not talk about science, changing the treatment plan without authorization can have serious consequences. A) Oxygen poisoning: refers to the functional or organic damage caused by oxygen to the body after inhalation of high concentrations of oxygen for a certain period of time under high pressure or normal pressure. Oxygen poisoning can be divided into central type, pulmonary type, hemolytic type and ocular type. No matter which type of oxygen poisoning occurs, the entire body is simultaneously injured. Clinically, inhaling oxygen at a pressure higher than 0.3 MPa, extending the oxygen inhalation time at random during conventional treatment, and inhaling oxygen at a concentration higher than 50% for a long time under normal pressure are common causes of oxygen poisoning. The mechanism is roughly divided into three aspects: 1. Toxic effect of oxygen on central metabolism; 2. Toxic effect of oxygen on enzymes; 3. Excessive production of free radicals. As soon as oxygen poisoning occurs, stopping oxygen inhalation immediately can generally relieve symptoms. Vitamin E, C, K, magnesium ion preparations can prevent oxygen poisoning. B) Barotrauma: common middle ear barotrauma, paranasal barotrauma and pulmonary barotrauma. In addition, pneumothorax patients who are not found and treated in time during decompression can cause excessive expansion of gas in the chest cavity, compression of the lungs and heart, and mediastinal swing, which can cause sudden death of the patient. (3) Decompression sickness: the decompression rate is too fast and the amplitude is too large, which reduces the solubility of the gas in the tissues, freely forms blood bubbles in the blood and tissues, and causes a high risk of vascular air embolism and tissue compression. Fortunately, this situation often occurs during diving operations and is rare in general HBO treatment. As long as we attach great importance to our thinking and strictly follow the procedures, it is not difficult to prevent this disease. ^[2]

Use of hyperbaric oxygen chamber

Hyperbaric chamber preparation process

First: All patients who require hyperbaric oxygen therapy must be checked by a hyperbaric oxygen specialist before treatment, and they can only enter the cabin after confirming that there are no contraindications. Second: Do a good job of missionary work, teach patients to perform pressure-regulating actions to prevent earaches from affecting compression during the compression process, and enable patients to actively cooperate with cabin treatment. Third: Educate patients and escorts. It is strictly forbidden to bring fire, fire, flammable, explosive, volatile materials and electric electronic toys into the cabin to prevent fire. Explain that bringing a watch into the cabin may cause mechanical damage or inaccurate travel time, and a pen may cause ink spillage. Fourth: Due to the long time to enter the cabin (about 2 hours), the patient and the escort are advised to empty their urine before entering the cabin. It is not advisable to eat too full or bloated foods, such as milk, soybean milk, potatoes, radishes, leek, etc . Fifth: Equipped with lockers, dedicated for oxygen absorbers. Assist the patient to properly store and store the treatment items, and issue the patient ID and locker keys to facilitate the turnover and management of the items. Sixth: Patients are advised to contact doctors and nurses in a timely manner under special circumstances, and they can enter the cabin without any abnormalities after diagnosis and treatment. Take a few days off when you have a cold, and then enter the cabin after the symptoms have eased, otherwise the eustachian tube cannot be opened, which affects pressure regulation and causes earache. Seventh: Check vital signs of critically ill patients in the air pressurized cabin before entering the cabin. Fix and debug various catheters and keep them unobstructed, prepare rescue equipment and items, connect the oxygen inhalation tube and exhalation tube for the patient, check and adjust the oxygen resistance in time. Those who are critically ill, rescued by coma, oxygen in the cabin ventilator, patients who need medical care in the cabin with infusion or tracheostomy, elderly and frail, children and those with relative contraindications to hyperbaric oxygen, cannot take care of themselves For patients with restlessness, flat cars, wheelchair access, and other special circumstances, in order to prevent accidents, medical staff and their families must accompany the cabin. Eighth: the personnel entering the pure oxygen cabin must take off their underwear, clean the cotton pants provided by the undergraduate, cover the cotton bedding provided by the undergraduate, the patient's own clothing must not be brought into the cabin, children can bring a piece of pure Cotton (paper) diapers, carry a milk (water) bottle into the cabin, no other items should be brought in. All personnel entering the pure oxygen cabin must wear a cotton work cap to cover all hair. Combing hair and other actions that may cause static electricity are strictly prohibited in the cabin ; Strictly grasp the indications, critically ill, restless patients should not enter the pure oxygen cabin for treatment. The cabin crew strictly grasps the treatment plan, observes the patient's condition change at any time through the observation window, and reports the abnormality in time to deal with it in time. ^[2]

Hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatment process

First: After the hatch is closed, the patient is instructed to concentrate and obey the instructions of the cabin crew. During the pressurization process, do a good job of regulating pressure and insufflation. If ear pain occurs, notify the cabin crew in time to slow down or suspend the pressurization to avoid causing middle ear barotrauma. Individuals who fail to adjust the pressure can take out the patient for oxygen breathing at normal pressure through the transition cabin. Second: It is best to breathe through the nose when inhaling oxygen to warm and humidify the inhaled gas; at the same time, maintain a normal breathing frequency. Third: the care of patients in the air pressurized cabin: after the pressure reaches the treatment pressure, follow the instructions of the cabin crew, wear a mask to inhale oxygen; patients in the cabin are best to use open bottles. I can't see the drip situation, so pay attention to the adjustment of the water level; in order to prevent the occurrence of oxygen poisoning, take a rest for 10 minutes between the two oxygen inhalations; during the oxygen inhalation, you can read your own newspaper, magazine or listen to the music played by the console; Monitor the heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing in the critically ill cabin, adjust the infusion speed, check whether the catheters are in place and keep breathing open. Fourth: Nursing of patients in the pure oxygen cabin: the child takes a lateral position and faces the observation window for easy observation; in order to ensure safety, frictional movements should be reduced; cabin operators strictly follow the procedures, strictly control the treatment plan, and pay attention to the cabin temperature , Regular ventilation after voltage stabilization. ^[2]

Hyperbaric oxygen chamber safety awareness

With the promotion of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the application of hyperbaric oxygen chambers in China has developed rapidly.
Although the number of adverse events received in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber is not large, it is serious in nature and most of the causes are caused by improper operation.
Therefore, relevant medical institutions are reminded to strengthen the training on safe use and the education of patients, and they must hold a certificate to work and operate strictly in accordance with regulations.
At the same time, for pure oxygen pressurized tanks, the number of cabin passengers is strictly limited to one person.
Secondly, remind patients to strengthen their awareness of self-protection, strictly observe the cabin instructions, and report any problems to medical staff in a timely manner.
In addition, product manufacturers should take the initiative to carry out post-market adverse event monitoring, collect adverse events that may be related to the use of machinery, and report to the provincial, autonomous region, and municipal government adverse drug reaction monitoring departments in a timely manner according to regulations, and strictly enforce relevant standards in random documents (Such as the instruction manual) in an eye-catching manner to further emphasize safety precautions, to avoid product use risks. ^[3]