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Case Report
Pneumocephalus as complication from hyperbaric oxygen treatment
1 MD, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
2 MD, Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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Lily Xiao Jing Sun
Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada
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Article ID: 100052S05LS2021
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How to cite this article
Sun LXJ, Nataraj A. Pneumocephalus as complication from hyperbaric oxygen treatment. Edorium J Surg 2021;8:100052S05LS2021.ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) is a therapy in which a patient breathes 100% oxygen intermittently while inside a treatment chamber at a pressure higher than at sea level. Barotrauma is the most common cause of side effects with HBOT. In this case report, we discuss the rare presentation of pneumocephalus following HBOT.
Case Report:
The patient is a 32-year-old woman with congenital hydrocephalus and an extensive history of shunt revisions, as well as a third ventriculostomy. The patient received two weeks of HBOT given her history of impaired wound healing and continuation of poor skin healing after a shunt revision surgery. This is the first report of pneumoventricle in the context of a non-healing ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt wound as a complication of HBOT.
Conclusion:
Although pneumocephalus after HBOT is a very rare complication, careful evaluation of the patient is needed prior to initiating HBOT. Increased awareness of this potential complication of HBOT can aid in the decision-making of whether to expose patients with non-healing VP shunt incisions to this therapy.
Keywords: Hyperbaric oxygen, Pneumocephalus, Ventriculoperitoneal shunt
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Author Contributions:
Lily Xiao Jing Sun - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Andrew Nataraj - Interpretation of data, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Guaranter of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2021 Lily Xiao Jing Sun et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
