Outcomes of Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment for Central Retinal Artery Occlusion: A Single Center Experience

Purpose: To describe the outcomes of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for patients with central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) at a single tertiary care center.

Design: Retrospective clinical cohort study.

Methods: Medical records of all patients diagnosed with CRAO who received HBOT at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2020 were reviewed to confirm diagnosis, time from onset to presentation, exam findings, treatments, and follow-up data. Main outcome measures included final visual acuity (VA) and number of lines of improvement.

Results: There were 41 patients diagnosed with CRAO who received HBOT during the 12-year study period. Median time from symptom onset to HBOT treatment was 9.5 h (interquartile range [IQR] 6.5, 14.0 h), and patients received a median of 4 HBOT sessions (IQR 2.5, 6.0 sessions). There were 20 patients who received HBOT within 9 h, 14 (70%) of which had clinically meaningful improvement in VA of ≥0.3 logMAR. In comparison, of the 21 patients treated after 9 h, 6 (28.6%) had VA improvement of ≥0.3 logMAR (P = .008). For all patients, the median logMAR VA at presentation was 2.00 (IQR 1.70, 2.30) and the median logMAR VA at follow-up was 1.94 (IQR 1.00, 2.00) (P < .001), with median lines of improvement of 3.0 (IQR 0.0, 7.0). For patients treated within 9 h, the median logMAR VA at presentation was 2.00 (IQR 1.93, 2.30) and the median logMAR VA at follow-up was 1.70 (IQR 0.54, 2.00). Patients treated within 9 h had statistically significant greater median lines of VA improvement than cases that were treated after >9 h from symptom onset at 5.9 (IQR 3.0, 10.0) and 0.0 (IQR 0.0, 3.0), respectively (P < .001). There was no difference in VA recovery associated with specific retinal exam findings such as cherry-red spot (P = .22) and cilioretinal artery perfusion (P = .36) compared to patients without those findings.

Conclusion: There was a statistically significant improvement in VA after HBOT treatment in CRAO patients among patients that received early HBOT, with patients receiving the most benefit when receiving treatment within 9 h. Randomized control trials in patients with CRAO are required to confirm the efficacy of HBOT.