VA to offer oxygen therapy to some veterans with PTSD
January 01, 2018
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is increasingly turning to alternative therapies to help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Their latest offering is hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT).
The VA will provide HBOT to a small number of patients experiencing PTSD symptoms that are resistant to traditional treatments. The therapy will be made available to some eligible veterans in the California and Oklahoma VA health care systems.
The procedure involves sending higher oxygen levels to patients via pressurized hyperbaric chambers to encourage healing. According to the VA, it will be administered under doctor supervision.
The chairman of the American Legion’s PTSD/TBI Ad Hoc Committee welcomed the VA’s decision to offer HBOT, describing it as “another tool in the physician’s tool box.” However, there is little evidence to show that HBOT is effective for treating PTSD.
Although the therapy has been studied, results have been inconclusive. The Food and Drug Administration has also not approved it as a recognized treatment for the condition.
Admitting that its use of HBOT was “off-label,” the VA said it was planning to study the therapy’s effectiveness in association with the Department of Defense. The research will be used to determine whether HBOT should be made available to more veterans with PTSD.
Currently, the therapy is federally approved to use for treating carbon monoxide poisoning, decompression sickness, skin grafts, wound problems and other illnesses that involve insufficient blood flow to a body part.
In a statement, VA Secretary David Shulkin said it is necessary for the agency to “be open to new ideas” and “explore every avenue.” He said, “There is nothing more important to us than caring for our nation’s veterans, and that care must include finding different approaches that work best for them.”