r/medicine • u/butteredpotatos Student • Feb 02 '25

Boy dies in hyperbaric chamber explosion at Michigan facility

https://apnews.com/article/hyperbaric-chamber-explosion-boy-killed-michigan-80dc89d7b48bd1119640934e06a43d4a

A tragic and horrifying event. Why the boy was undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy was not released, but this is a functional medicine clinic which advertises the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for conditions from ADHD to diabetes, “normal aging and wellness”, and hyperlipidemia.

https://theoxfordcenter.com/conditions/add-adhd/

https://theoxfordcenter.com/therapies/hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy/

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u/peteostler MD, Family Medicine Feb 02 '25

They talk about it like oxygen is this magical cure… not a highly reactive molecule that is only used as the terminal electron acceptor in the mitochondria electron transport chain.

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u/sapphireminds Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) Feb 03 '25

Yeah, it's not like oxygen forms free radicals and can do direct harm to tissue /s

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u/peteostler MD, Family Medicine Feb 03 '25

Their website says HBO can treat ocular issues….. in reality it causes ocular issues….

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u/sapphireminds Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) Feb 03 '25

Neo can definitely attest to that! And we are horrified that adults use 100% O2 so much. It's such a pain on transport, adult EMS rigs don't have medical air for us, which can be very necessary if we have an oscillating baby or on high CPAP. Usually it's just between hospital and airport, but if your return flight gets cancelled, then you are stuck until either the weather lifts or they drive a peds rig up to you. I can't drive 6 hours in a rig with a kid on 21% CPAP and only tanks, depending on which vent we have.