Table 2.

Histopathological changes of the mucosa induced by hyperbaric oxygen therapy in patients with refractory ulcerative colitis

Pathological feature	Median* (range) Pre-therapy	Median (range) Post-therapy	p Value†
Architectural changes	0.3 (0.2–0.3)	0.3 (0.2–0.3)	>0.05
Chronic inflammation	1.3 (1.2–1.3)	1.1 (1–1.1)	<0.001
Eosinophils in the lamina propria	2.15 (2–2.5)	2.05 (2–2.2)	<0.001
Neutrophils in the lamina propria	2.1 (2.0–2.1)	2.0 (2.0–2.0)	<0.001
Neutrophils in the epithelium	3.3 (3.1–3.3)	3.1 (3.1–3.2)	<0.001
Crypt destruction	4.3 (4.1–4.3)	4.1 (4–4.1)	<0.001
Surface erosions/ulcerations	5.3 (5.2–5.3)	5.1 (5.0–5.1)	<0.001

*The median was used to express the central tendency instead of the mean rank, to facilitate interpretation by the reader.

†p Value is estimated from Wilcoxon signed rank test.