Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Crohn’s Disease

Chicago patients may now avail of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Crohn’s disease. Abdominal pain, diarrhea, and malabsorption are all debilitating symptoms of Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory illness of the gastrointestinal tract that typically affects the ileum.

A colon resection may be necessary if the response to medical therapy is unsatisfactory, but the cause of the illness is unknown, so treatment is focused on symptomatology.

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment has shown promise in reducing inflammation associated with acute exacerbations of Crohn’s disease, leading to symptom relief and enhanced quality of life.

Here, we report on two examples of children who had hyperbaric oxygen therapy cycles for Crohn’s disease flares.

Each individual continued to experience symptoms despite extensive medical treatment. Treatment with hyperbaric oxygen improved both patients’ symptoms to the point that they could decrease their prescription dosages.

Hyperbaric oxygen seems to be a safe adjuvant in the treatment of refractory exacerbations of Crohn’s disease, though the processes by which it does so are not well understood.