The full article is currently under embargo for 12 months and will be made available on our website and PMC after this period. If you would like to access the article before it becomes publicly available, you can purchase it for personal use directly on our website. Alternatively, you may join SPUMS or EUBS to gain access to the entire issue.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for hypoglycaemic encephalopathy due to insulinoma: a case report
Haitao Chu1, Xiuchun Zhang2, Hang Zhao1, Xin Meng1, Danna Wang1, Yang Wang1
1 Department of Hyperbaric Oxygen Medicine, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
2 Department of Neurology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
Corresponding authors: Drs Danna Wang and Yang Wang, Department of Hyperbaric Oxygen Medicine, The First Hospital of China Medical University, No.155 Nanjing Bei Street, Heping District, Shenyang, China
Keywords
Brain injury; Blood sugar level; Hyperbaric medicine; Hypoglycemia; Outcome
Abstract
(Chu H, Zhang X, Zhao H, Meng X, Wang D, Wang Y. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for hypoglycaemic encephalopathy due to insulinoma: a case report. Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine. 2025 December 20;55(4):430−433. doi: 10.28920/dhm55.4.430-433. PMID: 41364869.)
Introduction: Hypoglycaemic encephalopathy is a potentially life-threatening condition which can present with seizures, altered mental status or focal neurologic deficits. Therapeutic options are limited and the overall prognosis is poor. Among previously reported cases, the maximum time for patients to recover consciousness after hypoglycaemic encephalopathy was 14 days. So far, no studies have reported that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) can improve the consciousness disorder of hypoglycaemic encephalopathy.
Case report: We report a case of hypoglycaemic encephalopathy caused by insulinoma who had a refractory consciousness disorder for 90 days and whose recovery was temporally related to institution of HBOT, suggesting that HBOT is a possible treatment for hypoglycaemic encephalopathy.
Conclusions: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can be considered in hypoglycaemic encephalopathy when the hypoglycaemia has been corrected but patients still have reduced consciousness.
Copyright: This article is the copyright of the authors who grant Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine a non-exclusive licence to publish the article in electronic and other forms.