Outcome

The meta-analysis of 27 randomized clinical trials involving 2250 participants demonstrated that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) significantly improves outcomes for patients with post-stroke depression (PSD). Patients receiving HBOT exhibited a higher response rate (69.4% vs. 51.2%) and significant reductions in depression severity neurological deficits and physical disability compared to the control group.

Introduction

Post-stroke depression (PSD) affects approximately one-third of stroke survivors significantly impacting their quality of life and overall health outcomes. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has emerged as a potential treatment for PSD. This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of HBOT in treating PSD through a meta-analysis of 27 randomized clinical trials involving 2250 participants. The analysis revealed that patients receiving HBOT had a higher response rate and notable improvements in depression severity neurological deficits and physical disability compared to control groups. HBOT in combination with antidepressants was more effective than antidepressants alone. Additionally HBOT demonstrated a favorable safety profile with fewer adverse events the most common being ear pain. These findings indicate that HBOT could be a promising therapeutic option for PSD.

Results

The study assessed the efficacy and safety of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in treating post-stroke depression (PSD) through a meta-analysis of 27 randomized clinical trials involving 2250 participants. The results were promising indicating that the HBOT group had a higher response rate (69.4%) compared to the control group (51.2%). Additionally HBOT significantly lowered scores on various scales measuring depression severity and neurological deficit including the Hamilton Depression (HAMD-17 and HAMD-24) scales National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) Chinese Stroke Scale (CSS) and Modified Scandinavian Stroke Scale (MASSS). Patients undergoing HBOT also showed improvements in physical disability as reflected by higher Barthel Index scores.

Subgroup analyses revealed that studies with fewer than 20% hemorrhage patients demonstrated greater reductions in HAMD 17-item scores compared to studies with 20% or more hemorrhage patients. Furthermore patients receiving both HBOT and antidepressants achieved better outcomes than those receiving antidepressants alone. Even HBOT monotherapy produced slightly higher response rates than antidepressants monotherapy.

One notable advantage of HBOT was its safety profile with fewer adverse events reported (9.6% vs. 16.6% in the control group) and ear pain being the most common side effect.

These findings suggest that HBOT is an effective and safe therapeutic approach for PSD.

Conclusion

In summary this meta-analysis underscores the potential of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) as an effective treatment for post-stroke depression (PSD). By evaluating data from 27 randomized clinical trials involving 2250 participants the study finds that HBOT significantly enhances response rates and reduces the severity of depression. It also shows marked improvements in neurological outcomes and physical disability outperforming traditional antidepressant therapies alone. Notably HBOT exhibits a favorable safety profile with fewer adverse events reported primarily ear pain.

These findings suggest that HBOT could offer a valuable addition to current PSD treatment strategies providing enhanced therapeutic benefits while maintaining a low incidence of side effects. However the results should be interpreted with caution due to the methodological limitations noted in the analyzed studies. Future research should aim for higher methodological rigor to confirm these promising outcomes and determine the optimal HBOT protocols including treatment duration and pressure settings to further refine its application in PSD management.