====== Ozone therapy ======

Ozone therapy is a form of alternative medicine treatment that purports to increase the amount of oxygen to the body through the introduction of ozone into the body. Various methods have been suggested on the method of introducing the ozone into the body, and the purported benefits of this therapy include the treatment of various diseases including cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, among others. The American Cancer Society has concluded there is not enough evidence to support the use of this treatment in any disease.

It is important to assert that ozone therapy procedures can be associated with several major complications. Therefore, performing a revision of the guidelines and protocols for ozone therapy application is indispensable
((Vanni D, Galzio R, Kazakova A, Pantalone A, Sparvieri A, Salini V, Magliani V.
Intraforaminal ozone therapy and particular side effects: preliminary results and
early warning. Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2015 Aug 21. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed
PMID: 26293228.
)).
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Oxygen-[[ozone therapy]] is used to treat degenerative pathology of the [[spine]] when surgery is not needed (e.g., removal of a herniated disk). Some authors have described it as a safe and effective procedure in ∼ 70 to 90% of patients. The aim of the therapy is to dehydrate the [[intervertebral disc]] and alter its contents. However, this treatment has been associated with some rare but very serious side effects. Both cardiac damage and a case of fulminant [[septicemia]] were reported. 
Chirchiglia et al. described a case of suspected pulmonary embolism, followed by [[sudden death]], in an [[elderly]] woman treated with oxygen-ozone therapy for [[low back pain]] caused by [[disc protrusion]]. They believed a massive [[pulmonary embolism]] occurred, probably caused by an intradiskal injection that accidentally punctured a venous vessel and created emboli
((Chirchiglia D, Chirchiglia P, Stroscio C, Volpentesta G, Lavano A. Suspected
Pulmonary Embolism after Oxygen-Ozone Therapy for Low Back Pain. J Neurol Surg A 
Cent Eur Neurosurg. 2019 Aug 20. doi: 10.1055/s-0039-1685197. [Epub ahead of
print] PubMed PMID: 31430795.
)).