THE Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) has inaugurated its new 10+2 Multiplace Hyperbaric Chamber that will help in the treatment of several diseases or sicknesses.
The chamber can house 12 patients at a time, suffering from dive accidents, decompression sickness, severe burns, skin and bone diseases, carbon monoxide and cyanide poisoning, and radiation injury, among others.
According to the Department of Health (DOH) Usec. Dr. Leopoldo Vega said hyperbaric medicine was also used to treat Covid-19 patients in SPMC and proved to be helpful in their recovery.
“The problem with Covid is because of their very low oxygen in the lungs, so it’s very non-brainer to put them in a hyperbaric chamber wherein the oxygenation will quadruple in your blood,” Vega said during the inauguration ceremony.
Patients referred to hyperbaric treatment undergo an oxygenation session wherein they inhale 99.9 percent pure oxygen released through an oxygen mask inside the chamber.
At the same time, with its improved capacity, the 10+2 hyperbaric chamber is more efficient than the existing monoplace hyperbaric chamber that can only accommodate one patient per session.
Nikka Buyco, registered nurse and personnel of the hyperbaric facility in SPMC, said the monoplace chamber fills the entire unit with oxygen which consumes more resources than the multiplace chamber.
The oxygenation session can last from 45 minutes to nine hours depending on the severity of a patient’s condition.
The multiplace hyperbaric chamber is a donation of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office to SPMC Department of Emergency Medicine Center for Diving, Hyperbaric Medicine, and Difficult Wounds.
SPMC chief Dr. Ricardo Audan is optimistic that through the hyperbaric multiplace chamber, more Dabawenyos will benefit from better medical services and treatment at SPMC.
“Surely this will benefit our patients especially the indigent and marginalized ones,” Audan said. ICM