Hyperbaric nursing

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Hyperbaric nursing is a nursing specialty involved in the care of patients receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology offers certification in hyperbaric nursing as a Certified Hyperbaric Registered Nurse (CHRN). [1] The professional nursing organization for hyperbaric nursing is the Baromedical Nurses Association. [2] [3]

Hyperbaric nurses are responsible for administering hyperbaric oxygen therapy to patients and supervising them throughout the treatment. These nurses must work under a supervising physician trained in hyperbarics who is available during the treatment in case of emergency. Hyperbaric nurses either join the patient inside the multiplace hyperbaric oxygen chamber or operate the machine from outside of the monoplace hyperbaric oxygen chamber, monitoring for adverse reactions to the treatment. [4] Patients can experience adverse reactions to the hyperbaric oxygen therapy such as oxygen toxicity, hypoglycemia, anxiety, otic barotrauma, or pneumothorax. [4] [5] [6] The nurse must know how to handle each adverse event appropriately. [5] The most common adverse effect is otic barotrauma, trauma to the inner ear due to pressure not being released on descent. [4] Since hyperbaric oxygen therapy is usually administered daily for a set number of treatments, adverse effects must be prevented in order for the patient to receive all prescribed treatments. [4] The hyperbaric nurse will collaborate with the patient's physician to determine if hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the right treatment. The nurse must know all approved indications that warrant hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments, along with contraindications to the treatment. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decompression sickness</span> Disorder caused by dissolved gases forming bubbled in tissues

Decompression sickness is a medical condition caused by dissolved gases emerging from solution as bubbles inside the body tissues during decompression. DCS most commonly occurs during or soon after a decompression ascent from underwater diving, but can also result from other causes of depressurisation, such as emerging from a caisson, decompression from saturation, flying in an unpressurised aircraft at high altitude, and extravehicular activity from spacecraft. DCS and arterial gas embolism are collectively referred to as decompression illness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyperbaric medicine</span> Medical treatment at raised ambient pressure

Hyperbaric medicine is medical treatment in which an ambient pressure greater than sea level atmospheric pressure is a necessary component. The treatment comprises hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), the medical use of oxygen at an ambient pressure higher than atmospheric pressure, and therapeutic recompression for decompression illness, intended to reduce the injurious effects of systemic gas bubbles by physically reducing their size and providing improved conditions for elimination of bubbles and excess dissolved gas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air embolism</span> Vascular blockage by air bubbles

An air embolism, also known as a gas embolism, is a blood vessel blockage caused by one or more bubbles of air or other gas in the circulatory system. Air can be introduced into the circulation during surgical procedures, lung over-expansion injury, decompression, and a few other causes. In flora, air embolisms may also occur in the xylem of vascular plants, especially when suffering from water stress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxygen toxicity</span> Toxic effects of breathing oxygen at high concentrations

Oxygen toxicity is a condition resulting from the harmful effects of breathing molecular oxygen at increased partial pressures. Severe cases can result in cell damage and death, with effects most often seen in the central nervous system, lungs, and eyes. Historically, the central nervous system condition was called the Paul Bert effect, and the pulmonary condition the Lorrain Smith effect, after the researchers who pioneered the discoveries and descriptions in the late 19th century. Oxygen toxicity is a concern for underwater divers, those on high concentrations of supplemental oxygen, and those undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barotrauma</span> Injury caused by pressure

Barotrauma is physical damage to body tissues caused by a difference in pressure between a gas space inside, or contact with, the body and the surrounding gas or liquid. The initial damage is usually due to over-stretching the tissues in tension or shear, either directly by an expansion of the gas in the closed space or by pressure difference hydrostatically transmitted through the tissue. Tissue rupture may be complicated by the introduction of gas into the local tissue or circulation through the initial trauma site, which can cause blockage of circulation at distant sites or interfere with the normal function of an organ by its presence.

In-water recompression (IWR) or underwater oxygen treatment is the emergency treatment of decompression sickness (DCS) by returning the diver underwater to help the gas bubbles in the tissues, which are causing the symptoms, to resolve. It is a procedure that exposes the diver to significant risk which should be compared with the risk associated with the available options and balanced against the probable benefits. Some authorities recommend that it is only to be used when the time to travel to the nearest recompression chamber is too long to save the victim's life, others take a more pragmatic approach, and accept that in some circumstances IWR is the best available option. The risks may not be justified for case of mild symptoms likely to resolve spontaneously, or for cases where the diver is likely to be unsafe in the water, but in-water recompression may be justified in cases where severe outcomes are likely if not recompressed, if conducted by a competent and suitably equipped team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxygen therapy</span> Use of oxygen as a medical treatment

Oxygen therapy, also referred to as supplemental oxygen, is the use of oxygen as medical treatment. Supplemental oxygen can also refer to the use of oxygen enriched air at altitude. Acute indications for therapy include hypoxemia, carbon monoxide toxicity and cluster headache. It may also be prophylactically given to maintain blood oxygen levels during the induction of anesthesia. Oxygen therapy is often useful in chronic hypoxemia caused by conditions such as severe COPD or cystic fibrosis. Oxygen can be delivered via nasal cannula, face mask, or endotracheal intubation at normal atmospheric pressure, or in a hyperbaric chamber. It can also be given through bypassing the airway, such as in ECMO therapy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diving medicine</span> Diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders caused by underwater diving

Diving medicine, also called undersea and hyperbaric medicine (UHB), is the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of conditions caused by humans entering the undersea environment. It includes the effects on the body of pressure on gases, the diagnosis and treatment of conditions caused by marine hazards and how relationships of a diver's fitness to dive affect a diver's safety. Diving medical practitioners are also expected to be competent in the examination of divers and potential divers to determine fitness to dive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxygen mask</span> Interface between the oxygen delivery system and the human user

An oxygen mask provides a method to transfer breathing oxygen gas from a storage tank to the lungs. Oxygen masks may cover only the nose and mouth or the entire face. They may be made of plastic, silicone, or rubber. In certain circumstances, oxygen may be delivered via a nasal cannula instead of a mask.

Diving disorders, or diving related medical conditions, are conditions associated with underwater diving, and include both conditions unique to underwater diving, and those that also occur during other activities. This second group further divides into conditions caused by exposure to ambient pressures significantly different from surface atmospheric pressure, and a range of conditions caused by general environment and equipment associated with diving activities.

Ocular ischemic syndrome is the constellation of ocular signs and symptoms secondary to severe, chronic arterial hypoperfusion to the eye. Amaurosis fugax is a form of acute vision loss caused by reduced blood flow to the eye; it may be a warning sign of an impending stroke, as both stroke and retinal artery occlusion can be caused by thromboembolism due to atherosclerosis elsewhere in the body. Consequently, those with transient blurring of vision are advised to urgently seek medical attention for a thorough evaluation of the carotid artery. Anterior segment ischemic syndrome is a similar ischemic condition of anterior segment usually seen in post-surgical cases. Retinal artery occlusion leads to rapid death of retinal cells, thereby resulting in severe loss of vision.

The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) is an organization based in the US which supports research on matters of hyperbaric medicine and physiology, and provides a certificate of added qualification for physicians with an unrestricted license to practice medicine and for limited licensed practitioners, at the completion of the Program for Advanced Training in Hyperbaric Medicine. They support an extensive library and are a primary source of information for diving and hyperbaric medicine physiology worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Paul Fife</span> US Air Force officer and hyperbaric medicine researcher

Colonel William Paul Fife USAF (Ret) was a United States Air Force officer that first proved the feasibility for U.S. Air Force Security Service airborne Communications Intelligence (COMINT) collection and Fife is considered the "Father of Airborne Intercept". Fife was also a hyperbaric medicine specialist who was known for his pioneering research on pressurized environments ranging from high altitude to underwater habitats. Fife was a Professor Emeritus at Texas A&M University.

National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology (NBDHMT), formally known as the National Association of Diving Technicians, is a non-profit organization devoted to the education and certification of qualified personnel in the fields of diving and hyperbaric medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Wesley Shilling</span> U.S. Navy physician, researcher, and educator

Captain Charles Wesley Shilling was an American physician who was known as a leader in the field of undersea and hyperbaric medicine, research, and education. Shilling was widely recognized as an expert on deep sea diving, naval medicine, radiation biology, and submarine capabilities. In 1939, he was Senior Medical Officer in the rescue of the submarine U.S.S. Squalus.

The European Underwater and Baromedical Society (EUBS) is a primary source of information for diving and hyperbaric medicine physiology worldwide. The organization was initially formed as the European Underwater and Biomedical Society in 1971 and was an affiliate of the Undersea Medical Society for several years. Its purpose is promoting the advancement of diving and hyperbaric medicine and the education of those involved in the field; EUBS provides a forum and a journal for exchange of information and promotes research into diving medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyperbaric treatment schedules</span> Planned hyperbaric exposure using a specified breathing gas as medical treatment

Hyperbaric treatment schedules or hyperbaric treatment tables, are planned sequences of events in chronological order for hyperbaric pressure exposures specifying the pressure profile over time and the breathing gas to be used during specified periods, for medical treatment. Hyperbaric therapy is based on exposure to pressures greater than normal atmospheric pressure, and in many cases the use of breathing gases with oxygen content greater than that of air.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yehuda Melamed</span>

Yehuda Melamed is an Israeli physician specialized in the fields of diving medicine and hyperbaric medicine. He is the founder of the first hyperbaric medical centers in the Israeli Navy, Rambam Medical Center and Elisha Medical Center in Haifa, the hyperbaric medical center in Asaf Harofe Hospital in Tzrifin, and together with Dr Hertz, the recompression chamber in Yoseftal Medical center.

Middle ear barotrauma (MEBT), also known to underwater divers as ear squeeze and reverse ear squeeze, is an injury caused by a difference in pressure between the external ear canal and the middle ear. It is common in underwater divers and usually occurs when the diver does not equalise sufficiently during descent or, less commonly, on ascent. Failure to equalise may be due to inexperience or eustachian tube dysfunction, which can have many possible causes. Unequalised ambient pressure increase during descent causes a pressure imbalance between the middle ear air space and the external auiditory canal over the eardrum, referred to by divers as ear squeeze, causing inward stretching, serous effusion and haemorrhage, and eventual rupture. During ascent internal over-pressure is normally passively released through the eustachian tube, but if this does not happen the volume expansion of middle ear gas will cause outward bulging, stretching and eventual rupture of the eardrum known to divers as reverse ear squeeze. This damage causes local pain and hearing loss. Tympanic rupture during a dive can allow water into the middle ear, which can cause severe vertigo from caloric stimulation. This may cause nausea and vomiting underwater, which has a high risk of aspiration of vomit or water, with possibly fatal consequences.

References

  1. Josefsen, L; Woodward, C; Lewis, D; Hodge, J; Camporesi, EM (1997). "The nursing role in hyperbaric medicine". Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine (Annual Meeting Abstract). Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved 2011-01-14.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. Greenberg, DA (1985). "Baromedical nursing specialization". Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine (Annual Meeting Abstract). Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved 2011-01-14.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. "Baromedical Nurses Association Certification". Baromedical Nurses Association. Archived from the original on 2014-05-15. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Howell, Raelina S.; Criscitelli, Theresa; Woods, Jon S.; Gillette, Brian M.; Gorenstein, Scott (2018). "Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: Indications, Contraindications, and Use at a Tertiary Care Center". AORN Journal. 107 (4): 442–453. doi:10.1002/aorn.12097. ISSN   1878-0369. PMID   29595909. S2CID   4386746.
  5. 1 2 Stevens, Sarah (October 2016). "Implementing a Nurse-Driven Protocol to Manage Diabetic Patients in Hyperbarics". Western Journal of Nursing Research. 38 (10): 1383–1384. doi:10.1177/0193945916658193. ISSN   0193-9459. PMID   27655088. S2CID   11627987.
  6. "Psychological Nursing Of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy". oxygen-ark.com. 2023-08-17. Retrieved 2023-09-14.