Authors' objectives: The ozone used for therapeutic purposes (medicinal ozone) is a mixture of up to 95% oxygen (O2) and 5% ozone (O3). Ozone therapy entails a technology that is currently in use for the treatment of a broad range of diseases and is becoming more widely known in the medical community. This treatment is not exempt from risks which may, in certain cases,become quite severe. As a result of this, and in view of a previous report published by AETSA in 2003 on ozone therapy for herniated disc, an abridged report intended to examine the information currently available on the effectiveness of interventions with ozone for therapeutic purposes has now been drawn up.

Authors' recommendations: Ozone has been attempted in the treatment of several different diseases, mainly for pain control in traumatological pathologies, mainly herniated disc. No clinical trial or other type of study was found that provide good quality evidence. The studies examined present a high bias probability. Outcomes should be considered with caution given the poormethodological quality of the assessed studies in spite of the large number of the studies that reported good outcomes after applying ozone therapy. The evidence currently available does not enable the effectiveness of ozone in the conditions studied to be determined. The use of ozone for therapy is not exempt of risks and adverse effects.This report upholds the conclusions drawn in the first report drafted by the Andalusian Agency for Healthcare Technology Assessment in 2003 on the effectiveness and efficacy of ozone in the treatment of disc herniation, the low quality of the available scientific papers, and insufficient scientific evidence.

Authors' methods: Review

Project Status: Completed

URL for project: https://www.aetsa.org/publicacion/efectividad-clinica-de-las-intervenciones-con-ozono/

Year Published: 2009

URL for published report: https://www.aetsa.org/download/publicaciones/antiguas/AETSA_2006-27_Ozonoterapia.pdf

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: Spain

Organisation Name: Andalusian Health Technology Assessment Area

Contact Address: Area de Evaluacion de Tecnologias Sanitarias Sanitarias de Andalucia (AETSA) Avda. Innovación, s/n Edificio Arena 1. Sevilla (Spain) Tel. +34 955 006 309

Contact Name: aetsa.csalud@juntadeandalucia.es

Contact Email: aetsa.csalud@juntadeandalucia.es

Copyright: Andalusian Agency for Health Technology Assessment (AETSA)