Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

On June 19, 1997 a first careful attempt was done to compare the European Committee indications with those of the HBO Committee of the UHMS. Not only indications were discussed but also recommended protocols, pressures and threshold treatment levels. The conclusion was that similarities were far greater than differences, and that in the future the two tables should be harmonized. Conditions not on both lists were to be evaluated to resolve differences as soon as possible. It was also planned to include the levels of recommendation for the ECHM indications as in the HBO Therapy UHMS Committee Report. A joint meeting took place during the Annual Meeting of the UHMS in Sydney in 2004; but a lot more work is required, involving both the UHMS Committee and the ECHM.

At the beginning of the 3 millennium, Hyperbaric Medicine appears to be a grown-up field of medicine world-wide with its own approved and accepted methods of evaluation of the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of therapy following EBM methods. For Hyperbaric Medicine to gain complete recognition as such, ethical and ecological considerations must be paramount in clinical practice, research and training. For this, imagination and creativity are more than ever a necessity.

Within the scope of this book, a review is presented regarding general characteristics of gases: constants, pressure and density, composition of air, and characteristics of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide as major components of air. Relevant information is given regarding the basic gas laws of Boyle and Amontons, the universal gas equation, the gas laws of Dalton and Henry and the laws of diffusion (Fick). In addition the principle of adiabatic processes (Joule-Thomson effect and adiabatic decompression) is described

Oxygen was discovered by Joseph Priestly in 1772. Since then, the chemical characteristics of the molecule have been established, together with its physiological properties relative to the transport and the utilization of oxygen by the cells and tissues. The role of the oxygen free radical, which are toxic reactive species, is important to consider in the practice of hyperbaric oxygen therapy

The mechanisms of oxygen transport, the relationship between oxygen delivery and consumption and determinants of tissue oxygen tension are considered with a brief introduction to the measurement techniques currently available in the clinical setting. An overview of clinical research from the last decade to the present is given with regard to the various organs. Evaluating the effects of hyperoxia at the tissue and cellular level as well as monitoring and titration of oxygen dose will be a challenging field of research in the future

HBOT has to compete for credibility and financial support with a number of medical therapies that have already established themselves according to modern evidence-based scientific standards. In order to compete and survive in a climate of cost-containment as well as finding general acceptance and appropriate use in the clinical setting, HBO has to be held to the same standards. This section reviews the methods in which this can be achieved

This is a short review on the respective primary roles and responsibilities of staff in a Hyperbaric Medicine centre. Daily experience, discussions in meetings and in congresses, and a critical review of our success in spite of any mistakes, will enhance this quality assessment and ultimately redefine some duties in the near future. Specific teaching and study of a European Code of Good Practice in Hyperbaric Medicine is strongly recommended

Important and independent organizations are involved in the orgization of HBO in Europe: namely the ECHM, the European College of Baromedicine (ECB), the European Underwater and Baromedical Society (EUBS), the group of European Specialists who brought forward the action of the U.E. COST B14 Action, the European Diving Technology Committee (EDTC) and, more recently, the European Baromedical Association for nurses, operators and technicians (EBASS). Finally, regarding recreational diving safety and medicine, the DAN Europe Foundation