
Carbon Monoxide Headquarters
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Pitfalls in the Clinical Diagnosis of CO Poisoning:
- Clinical signs and symptoms do not always match COHb levels
- Cherry red color of skin, lips and nail beds, usually considered to be classical sign, is not consistently present. There may also be cyanosis due to respiratory depression
- Some symptoms are aggravated by pre-existing disease, such as intermittent claudication
- Tachypnea is frequently absent because the carotid body is responsive to PO2, not arterial blood oxygen content
- CO poisoning is frequently misdiagnosed as:
- --- Migraine headache
- --- Stroke
- --- Psychiatric illness
- --- Food poisoning
- --- Acute ethanol intoxication or delerium tremens
- --- Heart disease
Misdiagnoses in CO Poisoning
Barret Study of Misdiagnosis
...... last changed 10/15/01
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