Short duration hyperbaric oxygen treatment effects blood flow in rats: pilot observations

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment has been found to improve healing in living tissues, especially those poor in oxygen. The effects of HBO have also been tested in rat experiments. However, oxygen partial pressure in rat's arterial blood is normally about twice that in humans. Disregarding this, a human HBO protocol has been applied in previous rat experiments with HBO. Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) is a non-invasive means for measuring blood flow. Using LDF, we measured the blood perfusion rate in rats receiving HBO, according to a modified protocol, in a region of healing soft tissue with bone defect. The results indicate that, in rats, shorter HBO treatment with high O2 pressure can significantly improve the blood flow of healing tissues. In this study, an elevated blood perfusion rate was still evident 2 weeks after the ending of HBO therapy, which indicates improved revascularization in the wound area. A short HBO protocol would save time and effort in future HBO experiments on rats.