Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for cerebral palsy: Two complications of treatment

There is growing interest in the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO2) fo r children with cerebral palsy. Although there is no rigorous evidence to s upport this management, private hyperbaric centers have been established th roughout the United States and Canada. There is likely to be increasing pre ssure on pediatricians and other health professionals to prescribe HBO2. We describe 2 children with cerebral palsy who suffered significant morbidity immediately after treatment with hyperbaric oxygen. Both the temporal asso ciation and pathologic findings suggest that the hyperbaric treatment is li kely to have been responsible for the resulting complications. As with any new therapy, we suggest waiting for the results of a randomized, controlled trial before recommending this treatment.