Predictors for delayed encephalopathy following acute carbon monoxide poisoning.

Background: In Japan, many carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning cases are transported to emergency settings, making treatment and prognostic assessment an urgent task. However, there is currently no reliable means to predict whether "delayed neuropsychiatric sequelae (DNS)" will develop after acute CO poisoning. This study is intended to find out risk factors for the development of DNS and to characterize the clinical course following the development of DNS in acute CO poisoning cases.

1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy indicates damage to cerebral white matter in the subacute phase after CO poisoning.

Objective: The authors examined whether (1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) can identify damage to the centrum semiovale in the subacute phase after CO exposure.

Methods: Subjects comprised 29 adult patients who were treated with hyperbaric oxygenation within a range of 4-95 h (mean 18.7 h) after CO exposure.