Hyperbaric oxygen therapy at 2.4 atmospheric pressure absolutes for 90 minutes per day ameliorated the signs and symptoms of agitation,
confusion, and emotional distress in a 27-year-old male seven days following a traumatic accident. Hyperbaric
oxygen was used to treat the patient's
crush injury and underlying nondisplaced pelvic fractures which were sustained in a bicycle versus automobile traffic accident. Its effect on the patient's neuropsychiatric symptoms was surprising and obvious immediately following the initial hyperbaric
oxygen treatment. Complete cognitive and psychiatric recovery was achieved by the seventh and final hyperbaric
oxygen treatment. We propose that hyperbaric
oxygen was effective in improving the patient's neuropsychiatric symptoms by reducing cerebral oxidative stress,
inflammation, vasogenic
edema, and hippocampal neuronal apoptosis. Further investigation into the use of hyperbaric
oxygen as a novel
therapy for the
secondary prevention of
post-traumatic stress disorder that often accompanies
post-concussive syndrome may be warranted. We acknowledge that
hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been shown to have a strong placebo effect on neurologic and
psychiatric diseases.