Hyperbaric therapy as an adjuvant in diabetic foot therapy: an integrative review

Abstract

Introduction: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) consists of exposing the patient to inhalation of 100% pure oxygen, at room temperature, under pressure greater than atmospheric pressure at sea level. It results in increased cellular oxygenation and breaking the vicious cycle of ischemia, causing vasoconstriction and consequently reducing edema and compartment pressures. As it helps to improve infection and healing processes, it is used as an adjuvant for the treatment of various pathologies, such as diabetic foot ulcers. Objectives: The present work aims to highlight nursing care for patients who use HBOT to treat diabetic foot. Methodology: This is an integrative literature review, carried out from February to April 2024 on the Virtual Health Library (VHL) portal, in the databases Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Database of Nursing Data (BDENF) and Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS), using the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS): Hyperbaric oxygen therapy AND Nursing OR Hyperbaric oxygen therapy AND Diabetic foot. Cross-checking the descriptors in the databases chosen for the review resulted in 332 results. After inserting the inclusion and exclusion criteria, there were a total of 121 records, of which 10 articles were selected as relevant to the study. Results: The findings showed that the professional nurse is responsible for providing assistance both before, during and after each oxygen therapy session. Regarding the benefits of this therapy in the treatment of diabetic foot, the most important effects were: it accelerates wound healing, reduces patient hospitalizations, reduces amputations, improves pain sensation, increases quality of life and patient survival. Conclusion: The use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy as an adjuvant method to conventional therapy proved to be much more effective than the use of conventional therapy alone, with the nurse being one of the protagonists in the use of this therapy.