Clinical and Laboratory Characteristics Predicting the Severity of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Children

Abstract

Objectives: Carbon monoxide poisoning (COP) is extremely common throughout the world. The purpose of this study was to assess the demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics predicting the severity COP in children. Methods:The study included 380 children diagnosed with COP between January 2017 and January 2021 and 380 healthy controls. Carbon monoxide poisoning was diagnosed based on the medical history and a carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) level of more than 5%. The patients were classified as mild (COHb 10%), moderate (COHb 10%-25%), or severely (COHb > 25%) poisoned. Results:The mean age of the severe group was 8.60 ± 6.30, for the moderate group was 9.50 ± 5.81, for the mild group was 8.79 ± 5.94, and for the control group was 8.95 ± 5.98. The most common place of exposure was at home and all cases were affected accidentally. The coal stove was the most common source of exposure, followed by natural gas. The most common symptoms were nausea/vomiting, vertigo, and headache. Neurologic symptoms such as syncope, confusion, dyspnea, and seizures were more common in the severe group. A total of 91.3% of the children had hyperbaric oxygen therapy, 3.8% were intubated, and 3.8% were transferred to intensive care in the severe group, whereas no death or sequela was observed. Mean platelet volume and red cell distribution width had the highest area under the curve in the receiver operating characteristic analysis (0.659; 0.379). A positive and low statistically significant relationship was found between COHb levels and troponin and lactate levels in the severe group (P < 0.05).Conclusions: Carbon monoxide poisoning progressed more severely in children presented with neurological symptoms and have elevated red cell distribution width and mean platelet volume. Even in severe COP cases, satisfactory results have been obtained with early and appropriate treatment.

Beyond Complete Blood Cell Count Parameters

“…We have read with great interest the article titled “Clinical and Laboratory Characteristics Predicting the Severity of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Children: A Single-Center Retrospective Study” by Guven et al 1 The study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of various demographic, clinical, and laboratory parameters in predicting the severity of carbon monoxide poisoning (COP) in children and determine whether peripheral complete blood cell count scores could reliably predict COP severity during the acute phase. The study identified that an MPV cutoff point of 8.56 was optimal for predicting mild versus severe COP with a sensitivity of 73.8%, specificity of 49.5%, and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.659 ( P < 0.05).…”