Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for PTSD: Threshold Effect for Sustained Symptom Improvement in a Biologically Based Treatment

Summary & key facts

Researchers re-examined data from a carefully controlled study of 56 male veterans with treatment-resistant PTSD who were randomly given either real hyperbaric oxygen therapy or a fake (sham) version. They found that if a person had about a 35% or greater drop in PTSD symptoms by the end of the treatment course of 60 daily sessions, they tended to keep getting better over the next three months. The study also found that changes in certain symptom types, especially intrusive memories and avoidance, were linked to longer-term improvement. The results suggest there may be a threshold of benefit you need to reach during treatment for gains to stick, but the finding is from a post-hoc analysis of a small, specific group and does not prove how or why the change happens.

Key facts:

• The analysis used data from 56 men with treatment-resistant PTSD who completed a trial and were split evenly into two groups with 28 people in each group.
• The active treatment was 60 daily sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, each 90 minutes long, where people breathed pure oxygen under increased pressure with short air breaks.
• The comparison group received 60 sham sessions that looked similar but used normal air at near-normal pressure.
• People who showed about a 35% or larger reduction in symptoms by the end of treatment were much more likely to continue improving three months later.
• Among symptom types, reductions in intrusive symptoms like flashbacks and nightmares had the strongest link to overall improvement, and reductions in avoidance behaviors best predicted who stayed better.
• This was a post-hoc analysis, which means the researchers looked for patterns after the main trial was done, so the result needs confirmation in new studies.
• The participants were all male veterans with long-standing, treatment-resistant PTSD, so the results may not apply to women or to people with different types of trauma.
• The study suggests a possible threshold effect for a biologically based treatment, but it does not prove the exact brain mechanisms or guarantee the same result in other groups or settings.

Abstract

ClinicalTrial.gov identifier: NCT04518007.

Topics

Anesthesia and Neurotoxicity Research Intensive Care Unit Cognitive Disorders Traumatic Brain Injury and Neurovascular Disturbances

Categories

Health Sciences Medicine Neurology

Tags

Anesthesia Hyperbaric oxygen Intensive care medicine Medicine Psychology

Substances

Cannabis

Conditions & symptoms

PTSD Anxiety or worry Feeling disconnected from others Poor sleep Sadness or low mood