Interval Hypoxia-Hyperoxia Therapy as a Method of Treating Patients with Chronic Critical Illness Caused by Severe Brain Damage

The term “chronic critical illness” was first coined in 1985 by researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine in an article with the provocative headline “Save or let die?” The authors described a unique category of patients that stood out among the general population of patients in intensive care units. These patients, who received a full range of intensive care, did not die, but also did not achieve recovery for weeks, months, or even years after an acute Injury. This research opened doors for further study.

National and foreign sources show that patients with chronic critical illness comprise 5–20% of intensive care unit patients. Despite intensive treatment and rehabilitation measures, most of these patients eventually develop homeostasis disorders and complications, leading to multiple organ failure and death.

This article presents an intermittent hypoxia-hyperoxia therapy case study for a patient with the chronic disorder of consciousness. The patient completed two weeks of intensive care therapy at the Scientific Research Institute of rehabilitation named after Prof. Pryanikova I.V. of the Federal Research and Clinical Center of Intensive Care Medicine and Rehabilitology. Metered-dose intermittent hypoxia-hyperoxia therapy training improved the patient’s adaptation and reduced neurological deficits as a part of comprehensive rehabilitation.

Intermittent hypoxic-hyperoxia therapy shows potential in the intensive care unit patient treatment and in rehabilitation.