Page 139 - Effects of radiotherapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy on oral microcirculation Renee Helmers

per patient; average of 30 sessions) that lacks an indisputable scientific basis for the prevention and treatment of ORN and is itself not free of side-effects (temporary visual problems, Eustachian tube problems, claustrophobia and seizure).17 Furthermore, cost-efficacy of HBOT could be determined when true indication and efficacy of treatment are identified.
The CC has proven to be clinically feasible for chairside monitoring of the microcirculation. However, quantification of the microcirculation parameters is time consuming and future development of fully automated chairside assessment with instant value calculation of oral microcirculation parameters could aid in the previously described objectives for stage of tissue pathology appraisal and evaluation of efficacy of therapy.
In conclusion, this thesis revealed that microcirculatory changes can be measured and attributed to RT and HBOT. HBOT has shown to partially redirect microcirculatory parameters in IR tissue towards healthy tissue values. Development of a future scoring system for “late radiation microcirculation injury” in oral mucosa would additionally benefit and sharpen the understanding of the pathophysiology related to ORN. A chairside IR injury severity score of a patient’s underlying microvascular status could aid in patient selection and allocation timing and duration of HBOT or other microvascular tissue resuscitating therapies.
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General discussion
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