Effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Clostridioides difficile-associated Colitis: A Retrospective Study

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Hyperbaric Medicine
• Microbiology

Background:

• Clostridioides difficile (CD) is a significant cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea.
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) is effective for Clostridium perfringens but its role in CD infections (CDI) is unexplored.
• Investigating novel therapeutic approaches for CDI is crucial due to its impact on patient health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To retrospectively evaluate the impact of HBO therapy on the prognosis of patients with CDI.
• To determine if HBO influences key clinical outcomes such as severity, mortality, hospitalization, and survival.
• To assess HBO's effect on CDI recurrence rates and symptomatic period duration.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 92 inpatients diagnosed with CDI between January 2013 and December 2022.
• Comparison between 16 patients who received HBO therapy and those who did not.
• Data collected included patient demographics, HBO indications, observation period, severity, mortality, hospitalization, survival, recurrence, and symptomatic period.

Main Results:

• No significant differences were observed in severity, mortality, hospitalization, or overall survival between the HBO and non-HBO groups.
• The HBO group demonstrated a significantly lower recurrence rate (0% vs. 22.4%, p=0.0363).
• Patients receiving HBO experienced a significantly shorter symptomatic period (6.2 vs. 13.6 days, p=0.0217).

Conclusions:

• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may offer a beneficial effect in managing Clostridioides difficile infections.
• HBO therapy shows potential in reducing the recurrence of CDI.
• HBO may contribute to a shorter duration of symptoms associated with CDI.