In March 2022, Essentia Health-Fargo launched a clinical trial titled, “Effect of Hyperbaric Oxygen on Persistent Post-Concussive Symptoms after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury” (HOINPCS). The study remains open through the fall of 2024 and Essentia’s certified hyperbaric medicine team is currently recruiting additional participants who meet the trial’s eligibility criteria.
Post-concussive syndrome is a condition in which someone who experienced mild brain trauma continues to have symptoms resulting from that trauma three months after the concussive event.
“People living with post-concussive syndrome may have debilitating conditions adversely influencing their quality of life,” explained Essentia’s Dr. Olayinka Ajayi, a principal investigator with the HOINPCS trial. “Current treatment options are designed to manage symptoms, but none addresses the damage to the brain tissue. This study is designed to investigate any beneficial role of providing hyperbaric oxygen to patients with post-concussive syndrome.”
Patients participating in this study must be at least 18 years old and have experienced an episode or episodes of concussion and still be experiencing related symptoms. The concussive episode(s) must have occurred more than three months ago and less than five years ago. Patients must be referred to this study by another health care provider. All referrals should be made to the neurology department at Essentia Health-Fargo.
Participation includes once-daily treatment of an investigational drug or placebo; 42 on-site visits in the first three months and, subsequently, four more visits over the next 21 months until the study-closeout visit; and the monitoring of side effects throughout.
Anyone interested in participating should reach out to their primary care provider and/or a neurologist to get a referral. For additional questions, please call (701) 364-8505.
This study is led by Dr. Ajayi, a hyperbaric medicine physician; Dr. Paulina Kunecka, a neurologist; and registered nurse Sharon Hanson. It is a collaboration between Essentia, the Dakota Medical Foundation, the University of North Dakota and the State of North Dakota.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized environment. In a hyperbaric chamber, the air pressure is increased 2-3 times higher than normal air pressure. Under these conditions, the lungs can gather much more oxygen than normal. The blood then carries this surplus of oxygen throughout the body, helping it fight bacteria, recruit stem cells and promote healing.
In 2021, Essentia Health-Fargo began to offer the first hospital-based HBOT in the region. Currently, Essentia uses HBOT to treat 14 conditions approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as well as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Conditions already treated by HBOT include decompression sickness, certain serious infections, bubbles of air in blood vessels and wounds that might not heal as the result of diabetes or radiation injury.
Cited from Essential Health