Inhaltsverzeichnis
Werbung
Smoke Inhalation/CO Poisoning
CO poisoning usually occurs as a result of smoke inhalation from
fires or exposure to CO from car exhausts or faulty heating systems.
CO binds with haemoglobin to form carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb)
which reduces the capacity of the blood to carry oxygen. Acute
poisoning may cause symptoms ranging from headache and
breathlessness (at COHb levels of 10% to 30%) through confusion
to coma and death (COHb usually greater than 60%). A particularly
insidious feature of CO 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.
Chronic exposure to relatively low levels of CO may result in a
variety of symptoms including headache, fatigue, poor
concentration, dizziness, palpitations, chest pain, visual disturbance,
nausea, diarrhoea and abdominal pain.
Chronic CO poisoning as a cause of such symptoms is often missed.
The MicroCO meter allows immediate assessment of patients at risk
of CO 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 CO exposure
may also reveal the cause of non-specific symptoms relating to low
level CO exposure (usually as the result of faulty gas appliances).
Reference
Meredith T, Vale A, Carbon monoxide poisoning
British Medical Journal, 1988; 296, 77-78
5
Werbung
Inhaltsverzeichnis
