Effect of hyperbaric oxygen and surgery on experimental gas gangrene

An experimental model of clostridial gas gangrene was developed in rats and the therapeutic value of surgical debridement alone versus a combination of surgery and hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) was assessed. The infection was produced by an intramuscular injection of Clostridium perfringens microorganisms. The mortality of untreated rats was 100%. The mortality of the rats treated only with surgery was 37.5% compared to 12.5% when HBO was added to the treatment protocol (p < 0.01). In the group treated with HBO and surgery 82.5% of the animals healed completely and were able to walk normally, whereas the corresponding figure in the rats treated with surgery alone was 12.5% (p < 0.001). In the present experimental setting HBO treatment was an important therapeutic adjunct to surgery reducing both mortality and morbidity.