Smoke Inhalation/Co Poisoning - CareFusion MicroCO Meter Betriebshandbuch

Smoke Inhalation/CO Poisoning

C O poisoning usually occurs as a result of smoke inhalation from fires
or exposure to C O from car exhausts or faulty heating systems. C O
binds with haemoglobin to form carboxyhaemoglobin (C OHb) which
reduces the capacity of the blood to carry o xygen. Acute poisoning
may cause symptoms ranging from headache and breathlessness (at
C OHb levels of 10% to 30%) through confusion to coma and death
(C OHb usually greater than 60%). A particularly insidious feature of
C O poisoning is the development of neurological problems such as
movement disorders (often resembling Parkinson's disease), memory
loss and altered personality. Such problems may develop weeks after
apparent recovery from acute poisoning.
C hronic exposure to relatively low levels of C O may result in a variety
of symptoms including headache, fatigue, poor concentration,
dizziness, palpitations, chest pain, visual disturbance, nausea,
diarrhoea and abdominal pain.
C hronic C O poisoning as a cause of such symptoms is often missed.
The MicroC O meter allows immediate assessment of patients at risk of
C O poisoning who can then be rapidly referred for expert assessment.
Prompt treatment with oxygen (in a hyperbaric chamber, if severe) is
often life saving. Screening for C O exposure may also reveal the
cause of non-specific symptoms relating to low level C O exposure
(usually as the result of faulty gas appliances).
Reference
Meredith T, Vale A, Carbon monoxide poisoning
British Medical Journal, 1988; 296, 77-78dith
11