Here’s how to avoid being fooled by this master of disguises.
Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning claims 6,000 lives and causes more than 10,000 sick days in the United States each year. But its vague symptoms are too easily attributed to a preexisting condition, or resemble another condition (such as cardiovascular disease), so sources of exposure can be tricky to pin down. As a result, CO poisoning is often misdiagnosed or missed altogether.
If you’re alert to the possibility of CO poisoning, you may be able to identify it in the early stages. Read on to learn which clues to look for when assessing patients and how to intervene.
Beating oxygen to the punch
Inhaled CO binds with hemoglobin far more swiftly than inhaled oxygen does, forming carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) and causing hypoxia. Carbon monoxide also binds with myoglobin and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase, depriving the brain and vasculature of oxygen, so COHb levels alone don’t always reflect the seventy of toxicity. Tissue hypoxia leads to anaerobic metabolism and lactic acidosis, causing lipid peroxidation and free radical formation-which, in turn, provokes neurotoxicity.
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