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Psychometric Testing and Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Roy A. M. Myers ,
Jeffrey T. Mitchell  and
R. Adams Cowley
Roy A. M. Myers
Affiliation:
From the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems, Baltimore MD, USA.
Jeffrey T. Mitchell
Affiliation:
From the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems, Baltimore MD, USA.
R. Adams Cowley
Affiliation:
From the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems, Baltimore MD, USA.
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Extract

The Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) is the smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) inhalation referral center for Maryland, particularly Baltimore City and the five surrounding counties. The majority of our patients are from the Baltimore/Washington corridor.

The use of a short screening battery of psychometric tests is an important method for improving the clinical approach to the diagnosis of CO poisoning. Our own experience and a literature survey have shown how poorly the CO level correlates with clinical signs and symptoms. We have reported on six patients who were unconscious from CO poisoning but had a carboxyhemoglobin (HbCO) level of under 1%, and we have seen apparently well oriented patients with HbCO levels of 45%. From these experiences, we have concluded that the HbCO level is only an indicator of exposure to CO, not necessarily of the severity of poisoning. These large discrepancies have necessitated the development of a supplemental test, such as the psychometric battery, to determine generalized cerebral dysfunction.

Type
Part II: Clinical Care Topics
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 1 , supplement S1: Disaster Resuscitology , 1985 , pp. 279 - 281
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 1985

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