The study is published in the December issue of the U.S. based and peer-reviewed journal Annals of Emergency Medicine. The researchers, led by Dr. Josh Rucker, a Toronto General Hospital research fellow and resident in the Anesthesiology training program at the University of Toronto, studied 14 subjects who were exposed to low levels of carbon monoxide (resulting in blood levels about equal to those in heavy smokers) on two occasions in order to simulate conditions during carbon monoxide poisoning.
After each exposure, which lasted one hour, the participants were given one of two "test treatments": the standard treatment of 100% oxygen, or the new method consisting of a mixture of mostly oxygen and some carbon dioxide. Each participant received both test treatments in random order. Researchers then monitored the amount of oxygen in the blood and the blood flow to the brain during exposure to carbon monoxide and during the test treatments.
KEY RESULTS
"These results are intriguing," said Dr. Fisher, an anesthesiologist at Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto and a senior author of the study. "Most doctors believe that giving patients oxygen is like giving them chicken soup -- it can't hurt. But, in fact, we find that treating carbon monoxide-exposed participants with pure oxygen actually limits the amount of oxygen that gets to their brains. That is worrisome."
"If severely poisoned patients respond like our test subjects, this new first-aid treatment may decrease the extent of brain damage in survivors," added Dr. Joseph Fisher.
IMPLICATIONS
CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING
The study was supported, in part, by the Department of Anesthesia, University Health Network and the University of Toronto, and the Tobi and Ted Bekhor Foundation.
The Toronto General Hospital is a partner in University Health Network, along with Toronto Western and Princess Margaret Hospitals. The scope of research and complexity of cases at Toronto General Hospital has made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. It has one of the largest hospital-based research programs in Canada, with major research projects in cardiology, transplantation, surgical innovation, infectious diseases, and genomic medicine. Toronto General Hospital is a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto.
To schedule an interview with Dr. Josh Rucker or Dr. Joseph Fisher, please contact:
Alex Radkewycz
Public Affairs
Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network
Phone: 416-340-3895
Pager: 416-980-0752
Annals of Emergency Medicine