ABSTRACT
Objective To study the infection control of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the hyperbaric oxygen therapy, so as to provide references for hyperbaric oxygen therapy in public health events in the future. Methods A hyperbaric oxygen therapy and nursing team in wards and a full-time infection control nurse post were set up, the responsibilities of infection control nurses were defined, nosocomial infection monitoring was carried out, and meticulous management in all aspects of infection control was carried out. The hand hygiene compliance rates (number of hand hygiene execution/total number of hand hygiene indicators 100%) of doctors, nurses and patients were compared before and after supervision by full-time infection control nurses. After the implementation of the hyperbaric oxygen chamber disinfection, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleic acid test was performed on multiple sites inside and outside the hyperbaric oxygen chamber and wards every week. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy was given to four COVID-19 patients in mobile single air compression chamber and the therapy effects were observed. Results After supervision by fulltime infection control nurses, the hand hygiene compliance rates of the doctors, nurses and patients were all improved (82.94% [175/211] vs 73.27% [148/202], 94.70% [268/283] vs 89.39% [236/264], and 78.41% [69/88] vs 46.64% [24/55]), and the differences were significant (χ2=5.663 5, 5.308 4, and 17.997 2, all P<0.05). After the implementation of the hyperbaric oxygen chamber disinfection, the SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test results were negative on the door handle, inside and outside of the hyperbaric oxygen chamber, the surface of the transfer bed and the surface of ward supplies during the first and second weeks. The pulse oxygen saturation (SpO2) and the walking distance in six minutes of patients were both increased after hyperbaric oxygen therapy compared with those before hyperbaric oxygen therapy [( 91.62±3.65]% vs[ 85.63±4.52]% and [346.3±43.6] m vs [272.2±61.9] m), and the differences were significant (t=2.062 1 and 1.957 4, P=0.042 and 0.049). The symptoms such as chest tightness and shortness of breath were significantly improved after hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Computed tomography reexamination showed that the inflammatory lesions of lungs had subsided to different extents. Conclusion Hyperbaric oxygen nursing team and infection control nurse post can promote and supervise the implementation of the infection control system and infection control measures, ensuring the infection monitoring of COVID-19 patients and the safety of patients and medical staff.