Doctors of the Penza Regional Clinical Centre for Specialised Types of Medical Care began to use a breakthrough method for treating patients with a new coronavirus infection.
"It is a method of hyperbaric oxygenation or body saturation with air using high pressure in sealed stratochambers," says Dzhamilya Kurmayeva, deputy chief doctor of the Penza Regional Clinical Centre for Specialised Types of Medical Care, chief freelance specialist in infectious diseases of the Penza Oblast.
The method of hyperbaric oxygenation is not new for Penza medicine. The use of stratochamber has successfully proven itself in the treatment of patients with severe forms of viral pneumonia, meningitis, herpes and psoriasis.
So, as soon as the Moscow Sklifosovsky Institute of Emergency Medicine started using this method in Russia, our specialists also started to implement it.
The new COVID-19 therapy method works in the following way: a patient suffering from oxygen starvation or hypoxia is placed in a sealed capsule, where an increased pressure induces an active saturation of the body with oxygen.
"As a rule, in hypoxia, breathing even with pure oxygen may not be very effective, because the saturation of hemoglobin has its limit, but the level of oxygen in the plasma does not change," Dzhamilya Kurmayeva explains.
One of the few solutions is to increase the dissolved oxygen fraction, which is only possible in a glass sealed apparatus.
"The increase in pressure in the stratochamber creates conditions under which the maximum amount of air can enter the lungs," the doctor notes. " As a rule, when the lungs are affected by coronavirus pneumonia, the amount of functioning lung tissue decreases, and the remaining unaffected part has to take all the load on itself".
In the chamber, oxygen is supplied not only through the breathing part of the lungs, but also directly through the patient's skin, which allows to saturate the blood already outside the lungs, and in addition, the body's defenses are stimulated.
The procedure lasts from 30 to 40 minutes and should be carried out every day. As a rule, by the 5th session the patient feels better, shortness of breath decreases, and saturation increases.
"Of course, this method contributes to the fight against coronavirus infection," the chief specialist States. "However, the infection itself requires study, it is not fully investigated, and, of course, we try to use all possible and available treatment methods in our region".
The method of hyperbaric oxygenation included in the complex therapy of patients has shown its effectiveness, and in some cases - brought those with severe forms of the desease back to life. It is prescribed in prolonged treatment, critical situations and during recovery. However, of course, it is the attending doctor who prescribes the procedure according to the patient's state.
Photo credit to the Penza Oblast Health Ministry
