Oxybiotest project: microorganisms under pressure. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) and simple pressure interaction on selected bacteria

Background HyperBaric Oxygen (HBO) therapy involves exposure to pure oxygen in a pressurized room, and it is an already well-established treatment for various conditions, including those originated by serious infections. Starting from the observation of an increased number of patients who were accessing our HBO units for diseases supported from concomitant multidrug-resistant microorganisms, as well as considering the evident clinical benefit and laboratory final outcome of those patients at the end of the treatment, aim of our study was to measure, or better define at least, if there was any interaction between a hyperbaric environment and some selected microorganisms and if those positive results were due to the increased oxygen partial pressure (pO2) value or just to the increased pressure, regardless of the fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) applied (21÷100%).