Third time around for hyperbaric oxygen therapy

Hyperbaric medicine, which was called compressed air therapy prior to 1956, began in the 1830s in England and France. After initial enthusiasm for this treatment, interest began to wane because of a lack of documentation of benefit. The medical community became skeptical, and use of the modality diminished. In the 1900s there was a resurgence of interest, but again, due to a lack of data and because conferences on the therapy were devoted more to the research aspects of complications than to clinical uses, less and less attention was given to potential applications. During the past 15 to 20 years, interest in hyperbaric medicine has reemerged. However, despite the facts that its uses are now well documented and that eminent professionals are involved in hyperbaric research and application, the field has never quite recovered from the equivocal role it once played.