Hyperbaric oxygen treatment for post-radiation central nervous system injury: a retrospective case series.

[von hippel-lindau disease]

Increased use of radiation therapy and increasing life spans following radiation treatment has led to an increase in the finding of post-radiation central nervous system injury in patients who have previously undergone radiation treatments . At this time , information regarding treatment for patients suffering from this serious side effect is limited and not readily available . It is imperative to examine possible treatment options , complications and success rates for these patients . This retrospective review will look at 10 patients who underwent hyperbaric oxygen therapy for post-radiation injury to the central nervous system . Review and investigation of the subjective , clinical and radiologic outcomes of these patients was conducted . It was determined that for patients with post-radiation central nervous system injury it is important to distinguish the exact diagnosis for each patient . For those patients with radiation necrosis , conclusion was made that hyperbaric oxygen (HBO 2 ) therapy does lead to improvement in subjective , clinical and radiologic outcomes . However , the results were not consistent across all patients . For those patients with non-specific delayed radiation injury , findings showed that HBO 2 does not lead to any improvement . Therefore , we conclude that for those patients who have been diagnosed with radiation necrosis of the central nervous system , we recommend HBO 2 therapy as a potential treatment option for some patients .