Hyperbaric oxygen for the treatment of traumatic incomplete spinal cord injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Jiantao Shi; Hongfei Ge; Zhouyang Jiang; Guangjian He; Liang Tan; Rong Hu; Shengli Hu

doi:10.4103/mgr.medgasres-d-25-00250

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Hyperbaric oxygen for the treatment of traumatic incomplete spinal cord injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Jiantao Shi·Hongfei Ge·Zhouyang Jiang·Guangjian He·Liang Tan·Rong Hu·Shengli Hu

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Abstract

The therapeutic efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for traumatic incomplete spinal cord injury remains a subject of debate. To comprehensively evaluate the impact of hyperbaric oxygen on motor function, sensory function, and activities of daily living in patients with traumatic incomplete spinal cord injury, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. We performed a comprehensive search across PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and major Chinese databases for randomized controlled trials published through June 2025. A total of 15 randomized controlled trials were included. The pooled results indicated that hyperbaric oxygen therapy significantly improved the American Spinal Injury Association motor score (mean difference = 10.30, 95% confidence interval: 7.70-12.90), the total American Spinal Injury Association sensory score (mean difference = 29.29, 95% confidence interval: 18.82-39.75), the American Spinal Injury Association light touch score (mean difference = 9.84, 95% confidence interval: 6.15-13.53), and the American Spinal Injury Association pinprick score (mean difference = 8.75, 95% confidence interval: 4.40-13.11). Furthermore, hyperbaric oxygen therapy was associated with significant enhancements in the Barthel Index (mean difference = 16.60, 95% confidence interval: 10.51-22.68) and the Functional Independence Measure (mean difference = 17.41, 95% confidence interval: 10.83-23.98). In conclusion, adjunctive hyperbaric oxygen therapy appears to improve motor function, sensory function, and activities of daily living in patients with traumatic incomplete spinal cord injury compared to conventional treatments alone. However, due to methodological limitations and potential publication bias in the included studies, these findings should be interpreted with caution, and further high-quality, multi-center randomized controlled trials are warranted.

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Humans Spinal Cord Injuries Hyperbaric Oxygenation Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic Activities of Daily Living Treatment Outcome ASIA score activities of daily living evidence-based medicine hyperbaric oxygen therapy meta-analysis motor function neurorehabilitation sensory function systematic review traumatic incomplete spinal cord injury Journal Article Systematic Review Meta-Analysis

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Jiantao Shi, Hongfei Ge, Zhouyang Jiang, Guangjian He, Liang Tan, Rong Hu, Shengli Hu. 2026-09-12. Hyperbaric oxygen for the treatment of traumatic incomplete spinal cord injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.. https://doi.org/10.4103/mgr.medgasres-d-25-00250

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ASIA score subject Activities of Daily Living subject Evidence-Based Medicine subject Humans subject Hyperbaric Oxygenation subject Journal Article subject Journal Article; Systematic Review; Meta-Analysis resource Meta-Analysis subject Systematic reviews study hyperbaric oxygen therapy subject motor function subject neurorehabilitation subject

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