Effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy on Quality of Life in Maxillofacial Patients With Type III Osteoradionecrosis

PurposeOver a 4-year period, 18 patients with type III osteoradionecrosis that developed an average of 55 months after radiotherapy treatment for head and neck cancers were referred for hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO2).Materials and MethodsParticipants completed a questionnaire battery before and after HBO2, including the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Core 30, the EORTC Head and Neck 35, and the Medical Outcomes Short Form 36.ResultsThe EORTC Core 30 questionnaire indicated significant improvements in “emotional functioning” and “insomnia” (P ≤ .01 and P ≤ .01). An improvement also was found in the “social eating” (P ≤ .01) and “teeth” (P ≤ .01) domains of the EORTC Head and Neck 35 questionnaire. These beneficial outcomes might be explained in part by the social environment of being in a specific treatment group with similar patients. However, the Medical Outcomes Short Form 36 indicated a significant decrease in “social functioning” (P ≤ .01). The patient group in this study did not undergo any surgical intervention between the 2 time points and no other interventions could be connected with the improvements, particularly in relation to “teeth.” In addition, clinical follow-up confirmed the stabilization of the patients' clinical conditions.ConclusionsThe findings of this study support the hypothesis that HBO2 has positive physiologic and psychological effects on some factors for this patient group.