Abstract
The aim of the presented study was to determine whether pulmonary barotrauma without pneumothorax affects the parameters of acid-base balance. The experiment was conducted on rabbits divided into experimental and control groups. The animals from the experimental group were subjected to compression in the hyperbaric chamber and pulmonary barotrauma was induced using a method developed by authors. The arterial blood was sampled before the experiment, after anaesthesia and intubation, after injury, and after treatment (in the group undergoing hyperbaric therapy). All parameters of acid-base balance were found to be within the reference ranges. Since the biggest changes were observed after anaesthesia and intubation and not after the injury, it was concluded that pulmonary barotrauma had no significant effect on the parameters of acid-base balance.