Cardiac Resuscitation with Hydrogen Peroxide

any clinical cardiac arrhythmias or situations of cardiac arrest are associated either primarily or secondarily with local or M systemic hypoxia and anoxia.In addition to standard methods of cardiac resuscitation, hyperbaric oxygenation (OHP) has been employed both experimentally and clinically to improve myocardial oxygenation in these situations [ l l , 14, 151.Due to the technical and physiological problems inherent with OHP [8, 121, studies were undertaken in our laboratory to determine the feasibility of administering intravascular oxygen in a regional or systemic system.This approach employs dilute concentrations of hydrogen peroxide given by a variety of routes to provide oxygen.Hydrogen peroxide under the influence of catalase and peroxidases is degraded to oxygen and water.Human blood and tissues contain excess quantities of both enzyme systems.Hydrogen peroxide provides from 3 to 8 atmosphere equivalents of oxygen which is administered in solution, thus avoiding the necessity of lung transport.Therapy can be provided regionally, avoiding the pulmonary and CNS toxicity problems of hyperbaric chambers.It can be given continuously over long periods of time by a single physician without expensive equipment and large teams, and also avoids the compression-decompression hazards of OHP.Many clinical and experimental applications of hydrogen peroxide have been demonstrated in our laboratory and hospital.In over 300 patients regional intraarterial hydrogen peroxide has potentiated the effect of radiation therapy in situations of malignancy involving the head, neck, pelvis, and retroperitoneum [ 101.Increased localization of radioactive isotopes in malignant tumors has been achieved by regional