“Nurse Zhang in ICU Bed 1, are the items you’re bringing into the room all ready?” “Everything is fully prepared—the small oxygen cylinder is completely filled!” The office nurse and the bedside nurse exchanged these questions and answers. It turned out that this was part of Zijin Hospital’s routine procedure for verifying and inspecting the preparations made by bedside nurses before entering the isolation ward.

　　Ms. Zhang, a 33-year-old woman, experienced amniotic fluid embolism during childbirth on March 1, 2016, resulting in two episodes of cardiac arrest. Although her heartbeat was restored following resuscitation, she remained in a deep coma. On April 17, senior experts from our hospital traveled personally to Lanzhou to escort her to our facility for treatment.

　　“Zhang Lin, please open your eyes… All right, now please close your eyes.” On the morning of May 23, 2016, President Wang Peidong personally conducted a rounds visit in the ICU. Observing that a patient who had undergone surgery for an aortic dissection–related aneurysm was already able to carry out simple command‑driven tasks thanks to our hospital’s aggressive treatment, and that tremors in all four limbs had noticeably diminished, he seized the opportunity presented by the patient’s “minimally conscious state” and decisively ordered: the patient would undergo hyperbaric oxygen therapy while on mechanical ventilation, with medical staff remaining in the chamber to ensure the patient’s safety.

　　The incident dates back to mid-April, when Zhang Lin suddenly experienced chest pain and subsequently lost consciousness. His family rushed him to a hospital in Nanjing, where he was diagnosed with an aortic dissection aneurysm. Despite receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other emergency measures prior to surgery, he remained unconscious after the procedure, with intermittent generalized seizures, and required mechanical ventilation to sustain life. He was then transferred to our hospital for further treatment. Following seven days of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the ICU, his condition improved steadily; he was weaned off the ventilator, and the limb‑onset seizures ceased.

　　These two cases merely exemplify the Nanjing Zijin Hospital, part of the China Brain Resuscitation Treatment Center, as a distinctive representative among numerous institutions employing hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

　　Over the years, our hospital has placed great emphasis on the application and management of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for critically ill patients. Prior to each patient’s entry into the hyperbaric chamber, a consultation is conducted by chief physicians, including Dr. Zhang Xuzhong of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Department, who develop a tailored treatment plan and establish a contingency protocol for managing emergencies. The medical team also engages in thorough communication with the patient’s family to secure their cooperation and understanding.

　　The hospital has a comprehensive set of procedures and safety precautions for patients using pressure‑controlled, ventilator‑assisted devices during hyperbaric oxygen therapy. To ensure the safety and therapeutic efficacy of critically ill patients, the hospital assigns a medical team leader and an ICU nurse to accompany the patient in the chamber. Inside the hyperbaric chamber, the healthcare team collaborates seamlessly, closely monitors the patient’s condition, and makes timely adjustments and interventions as needed.

　　As early as April 2008, the chapter “Application and Management of Mechanical Ventilation in Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers,” authored under the chief editorship of President Wang Peidong in the book “Diagnosis and Treatment of Coma and Vegetative State,” has served as our guiding reference, providing clear direction for the management of critically ill patients.