Primary Blast Injury - The Often Overlooked Hyperbaric Oxygen Indication

Introduction: This opinion article presents the historical aspect of blast injury from early casualties, physician observations and pathophysiology from research and case reports. Methodology: A literature search and review using OpenAthens, PubMed, and Google Scholar was done to obtain the evolution of blast injuries symptoms, etiology and treatment. Conclusion: Primary blast injury pathophysiology has an air emboli etiology that should be initially treated using hyperbaric oxygen therapy to resolve the emboli and minimize resultant inflammation and subsequent nerve degeneration.