The effect of hyperbaric oxygen on clinical outcome of patients after resection of meningiomas with conspicuous peritumoral brain edema.

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this study was to determine the effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on the clinical outcome of patients after resection of meningiomas with conspicuous peritumoral brain edema (PTBE).

METHODS

232 patients with intracranial meningiomas and conspicuous PTBE were allocated to the HBO2 Group or the Control Group (116 in each group). The Karnofsky Performance Score (KPS), the focal brain edema and the encephalomalacia in the operative region, as well as the number of patients with neurological deficits were compared statistically between the two groups at different times after the operation.

RESULTS

On the third day after operation, the KPS and focal brain edema in the operative region between the HBO2 Group and the Control Group were not significantly different (p > 0.05), but 15 days after surgery, compared with the Control Group, the KPS of the HBO2 Group appeared obviously higher (p < 0.05), and the focal brain edema in the operative region was definitely smaller (p < 0.05). Six months after surgery, the volume of encephalomalacia in operative region and the number of patients with neurological deficits in the HBO2 Group were significantly less than those in the Control Group (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

HBO2 therapy is effective in reducing edema formation and neurological deficits after resection of meningiomas with conspicuous PTBE.