Given the recent extremely cold winter weather experienced in some parts of the country, we will likely be expected to recognize and treat true frostbite and its sequelae at an increasing rate.
Frostbite is the result of focal injury that follows the crystallization of water within subcutaneous tissue when exposed to low temperatures.
Sequelae such as chronic neuropathic pain syndromes can results in up to 25% of patients with frostbite due to microvascular damage.
Hyperbaric oxygen has been shown to effectively treat this sequelae, even if administered in a delayed fashion, and should be considered as a viable therapeutic option.
References
Cooper, D. "Chronic Neuropathic Pain Syndromes following Frostbite Injury - Successful Treatment with Hyperbaric Oxygen." Retrieved from http://www.anzca.edu.au/events/asm/asm2003/cooper_david.htm.
Marx, John (2010). Rosen's emergency medicine: concepts and clinical practice 7th edition. Philadelphia, PA: Mosby/Elsevier.
