Exceptional blood loss anaemia occurs when red blood cells are lost and oxygen delivery is compromised. Many patients cannot be treated by transfusion to restore red blood cell mass for medical or religious reasons. Medical reasons may include the inability to cross match blood. Some may refuse transfusions for fear of a communicable disease. Blood loss over a short period of time can reduce the amount of iron in the body, so much so that the bone marrow will no longer be able to increase production of new blood cells to replace the lost ones. In macrocytic anaemia the blood cells are larger than normal and can be caused by anaemia related to alcoholism and pernicious anaemia.
Benefits of HBOT :Hyperbaric oxygen can temporarily support life without haemoglobin. The increased oxygen carrying capacity of blood during Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is enough to support basal metabolic needs at rest. The advantages of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) as an adjunct to cardiac surgery can be summarized as follows:
Breathing Gas | Time to displace CO to O2 |
---|---|
Air, 1 ATA | 214 minutes |
Oxygen, 1 ATA | 43 minutes |
Oxygen, 2.5 ATA | 19 minutes |