Smoke Inhalation/Co Poisoning - CareFusion MicroCO Meter Manuel D'utilisation

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, 77-78dith
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