Hyperbaric effects on glycemia

[mandykal, ADN, RN]

Hello all,

This client of mine goes to the chamber daily, we had a consult stating that his glucose level needs to be controlled. My question is does this hyperbaric chamber have any influence with regulating his glucose level???

[FrmrHBO2RN]

The answer is yes! There is extensive research being conducted by hyperbaric units all over the country about this very thing. There is a direct correlation between a patient's glucose level and their seizure threshold in the hyperbaric environment.

Hyperbaric treatments on average lower a patient's glucose level by 50 mg/dl. It is very important that the patient eat a good meal and have their glucose level checked before and after the hyperbaric treatment. If the patient is very brittle I have seen glucose levels drop by 100 mg/dl while receiving treatment. If the glucose level drops too low, the patient may experience a diabetic seizure while in the chamber.

There is a chapter about the suppositions on hyperbaric effects on glucose in the textbook on hyperbaric nursing, edited by Valarie Larson-Lohr.

Hope I helped.

[mandykal, ADN, RN]

The answer is yes! There is extensive research being conducted by hyperbaric units all over the country about this very thing. There is a direct correlation between a patient's glucose level and their seizure threshold in the hyperbaric environment.

Hyperbaric treatments on average lower a patient's glucose level by 50 mg/dl. It is very important that the patient eat a good meal and have their glucose level checked before and after the hyperbaric treatment. If the patient is very brittle I have seen glucose levels drop by 100 mg/dl while receiving treatment. If the glucose level drops too low, the patient may experience a diabetic seizure while in the chamber.

There is a chapter about the suppositions on hyperbaric effects on glucose in the textbook on hyperbaric nursing, edited by Valarie Larson-Lohr.

Hope I helped.

Thanks for the info, I shall check out a book on hyperbaric nursing. This client of mine had lost 12lbs in one month, glucose is now controlled with lantus and humalog..... it's just interesting...