Overview of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy HBOT treatment for COVID-19 by Dr. Paul G Harch. Protocol derived from Spanish Flu HBOT experience in 1918 and COVID-19 HBOT experience in China with analysis and considerations.

Purportedly, hyperbaric physicians in Pakistan, Iran, Thailand, and Japan have also begun treating COVID-19 patients. 

The net result of all of this is that the Chinese experience with HBOT in COVID-19 is duplicating the Cunningham experience with Spanish Flu in 1918.  There are now multiple studies that have been launched on HBOT in COVID-19: New Orleans, New York, San Diego and in France.  HBOT appears to be treating the hypoxemia and underlying pathology (lung inflammation) in COVID-19. 

One study explains: “COVID-19 also known as CoV-2 is declared a pandemic by WHO. More than 400 articles have been published and more than 160 clinical trials are registered but no specific treatment has been successful as of March 2020. Antiviral drugs Lopinavir-Ritonavir did not show any significant benefit compared to standard care in a Chinese randomized controlled study with 199 patients. Even though the overall mortality is low (0.2-7.2% the figures from critical care are fearsome. Mortality rates have been reported as high as 90% in patients developing Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) in early reports from the Wuhan province and more recent reports has reported overall 28-d mortality rates of 61,5% in ICU patients with acute respiratory illness (ALI), almost double the mortality of ARDS of any cause. ARDS associated with COVID-19 differs from other described ARDS with rapidly progressing respiratory failure and fibrosis. The mechanism behind the rapid progress is still an enigma but theories have evolved around severe inflammatory involvement with a cytokine storm. Macrophage activation is involved in the early phase of ARDS and cytokine modulators such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6) inhibitors have been tried in experimental settings but no proper clinical trials have proven positive outcome. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) significantly reduces inflammatory cytokines including IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α through several transcription factors regulating inflammation, including Hypoxia Inducible Factor 1 (HIF-1), Nrf2 and NFkB. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) has been used for almost a century, initially for decompression sickness, but it nowadays mainly used for its anti-inflammatory effects. Several randomized clinical trials have been conducted on humans for a variety of inflammatory diseases including diabetic foot ulcers and radiation injury. HBO is generally regarded as safe with very few adverse events. The broad and physiological anti-inflammatory effects of HBO shown in extensive experimental and clinical evidence suggest that HBO is a promising drug to ameliorate ARDS associated with COVID-19.”

For more info visit: https://hbot.com/hbot-for-covid-19-pneumonia-and-respiratory-failure/