Evaluation and Comparison of the Effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen and Ozonized Oxygen as Adjuvant Treatments in an Experimental Osteomyelitis Model

Background We evaluated and compared the efficacy of ozone (O3 ) and hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapies in an experimental rat model of osteomyelitis. Materials and Methods Forty-eight male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into sham, osteomyelitis (control), vancomycin (V), vancomycin + HBO (VHB), vancomycin + O3 (VO), and vancomycin + HBO + O3 (VOHB) groups. Osteomyelitis was induced by a bone injection of 108 CFU/mL methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus . HBO was administered daily at 2.8-atm pressure for 90 min; O3 therapy was provided as intraperitoneal injections of 0.7 mg/kg O3 /O2 gas mixture once daily. Treatments were continued from d 7 to 21 after induction of osteomyelitis. Bone tissues and blood samples were harvested for biochemical, histopathologic, and microbiologic analyses. Results Rats in the sham, VO, and VOHB groups gained weight but those in the control, V, and VHB groups did not. Levels of malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase were lower in the VHB, VO, and VOHB groups than in V and control groups. Levels of interleukin-10 and -1β and tumor necrosis factor-α were decreased in the VHB, VO, and VOHB groups; transforming growth factor-β was increased in these groups compared with V and control groups ( P ≤ 0.001). Bacteria counts in VOHB were significantly lower than those in group of V ( P = 0.012). Histopathologic scores in group VO were significantly lower than those in group V ( P = 0.046). Conclusions O3 was as effective as HBO in decreasing oxidative parameters and inflammatory cytokines. Rats in the VO and VOHB groups gained more weight than did the other groups. Bacteria counts were significantly decreased in group VOHB compared with the other groups. Histopathologic scores in group VO were significantly decreased compared with the other groups.