Mrakic-Sposta S, Vezzoli A, Garetto G, Paganini M, Camporesi E, Giacon TA, Dellanoce C, Agrimi J, Bosco G, et al.
Metabolites. Date of publication 2023 Sep 25;volume 13(10):.
1. Metabolites. 2023 Sep 25;13(10):1032. doi: 10.3390/metabo13101032.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Counters Oxidative Stress/Inflammation-Driven Symptoms
in Long COVID-19 Patients: Preliminary Outcomes.
Mrakic-Sposta S(1), Vezzoli A(1), Garetto G(2), Paganini M(3), Camporesi E(3),
Giacon TA(3), Dellanoce C(1), Agrimi J(3), Bosco G(3).
Author information:
(1)Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council (IFC-CNR), 20162
Milan, Italy.
(2)ATIP Center for Hyperbaric Medicine, 35128 Padova, Italy.
(3)Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, 35122 Padova, Italy.
Long COVID-19 patients show systemic inflammation and persistent symptoms such
as fatigue and malaise, profoundly affecting their quality of life. Since
improving oxygenation can oppose inflammation at multiple tissue levels, we
hypothesized that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) could arrest inflammation
progression and thus relieve symptoms of COVID-19. We evaluated oxy-inflammation
biomarkers in long COVID-19 subjects treated with HBOT and monitored with
non-invasive methods. Five subjects (two athletes and three patients with other
comorbidities) were assigned to receive HBOT: 100% inspired O2 at 2.4 ATA in a
multiplace hyperbaric chamber for 90 min (three athletes: 15 HBOT × 5 days/wk
for 3 weeks; two patients affected by Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing
Loss: 30 HBOT × 5 days/wk for 6 weeks; and one patient with osteomyelitis: 30
HBOT × 5 days/wk for week for 6 weeks and, after a 30-day break, followed by a
second cycle of 20 HBOT). Using saliva and/or urine samples, reactive oxygen
species (ROS), antioxidant capacity, cytokines, lipids peroxidation, DNA damage,
and renal status were assessed at T1_pre (basal level) and at T2_pre (basal
level after treatment), and the results showed attenuated ROS production, lipid
peroxidation, DNA damage, NO metabolites, and inflammation biomarker levels,
especially in the athletes post-treatment. Thus, HBOT may represent an
alternative non-invasive method for treating long COVID-19-induced long-lasting
manifestations of oxy-inflammation.
DOI: 10.3390/metabo13101032
PMCID: PMC10608857
PMID: 37887357
Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
