Simone Schiavo

Dr. Simone Schiavo completed both his medical degree and Anesthesia and Intensive care residency in Modena (Italy). He worked as a staff in a busy community hospital in Parma (Italy), which included a medical pre-hospital emergency service and a Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) Unit, where he became interested in HBOT, and later obtained a master's degree in Hyperbaric and Diving Medicine in Padova (Italy). His interest in broadening his knowledge and gaining experience on Hyperbaric Medicine, led him to purse a fellowship in Anesthesia and HBOT at Toronto General Hospital first, and subsequent clinical fellowships at T Western Hospital. Currently at TWH, he's combining intensive clinical exposure to regional and neuro-anesthesia to his never-ending passion for HBOT, focusing on research on new possible applications of Hyperbaric Medicine.

Research Synopsis

With the Hyperbaric Medicine team, we are collecting and evaluating evidence for the novel therapeutic use of HBOT for several neurological indications/pathologies or neurosurgical complications, such as Spinal Cord Injury in patients refractory to current recommended therapies, and we are developing evidence for the therapeutic use of HBOT in the rehabilitation of limb function in chronic stroke patients. Also, we are exploring mechanisms and outcomes of HBO application to emergent new fields of neurological diseases, and prevention and treatment of neurosurgical complications, such as post-operative CSF leak, spinal cord injury, peripheral neuropathies, neuropathic pain. Finally, we are exploring mechanism implicated in physio-pathological HBO-induced changes in clinical measures and outcomes (hemodynamic, respiratory, neurological and metabolic), to guide the evaluation of patients' eligibility to HBOT.

Recent Publications

Schiavo, S., DeBacker, J., Djaiani, C., Bhatia, A., Englesakis, M., & Katznelson, R. (2021). Mechanistic Rationale and Clinical Efficacy of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Chronic Neuropathic Pain: An Evidence-Based Narrative Review. Pain research & management, 2021, 8817504. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/8817504

Schiavo, S., Djaiani, C., DeBacker, J., Albertini, L., Santa Mina, D., Buryk-Iggers, S., De Moraes, M. V., Kanj, M., & Katznelson, R. (2020). Magnitude and Clinical Predictors of Blood Pressure Changes in Patients Undergoing Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: A Retrospective Study. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(20), 7586. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17207586

Wilson, J., Schiavo, S., Middleton, W. J., Massicotte, E. M., De Moraes, M. V., & Katznelson, R. (2020). The Treatment of Perioperative Spinal Cord Injury With Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: A Case Report. Spine, 45(17), E1127–E1131. https://doi.org/10.1097/BRS.0000000000003502

Schiavo, S., Richardson, D., Santa Mina, D., Buryk-Iggers, S., Uehling, J., Carroll, J., Clarke, H., Djaiani, C., Gershinsky, M., & Katznelson, R. (2020). Hyperbaric oxygen and focused rehabilitation program: a feasibility study in improving upper limb motor function after stroke. Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism = Physiologie appliquee, nutrition et metabolisme, 45(12), 1345–1352. https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2020-0124

Bosco, G., Rizzato, A., Martani, L., Schiavo, S., Talamonti, E., Garetto, G., Paganini, M., Camporesi, E. M., & Moon, R. E. (2018). Arterial Blood Gas Analysis in Breath-Hold Divers at Depth. Frontiers in physiology, 9, 1558. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.01558

Appointments