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Educate patients about CO poisoning and the importance of CO monitoring to prevent poisoning.  |
- To prevent CO poisoning, instruct patients to:
- Install audible electric CO detectors in all floors of buildings where combustion can occur
- Perform routine maintenance to minimize incomplete combustion in all combustion appliances, including:
- Conventional home heating
- Alternative heating
- Water heater
- Fireplace
- Stove
- Prepare for fire by installing smoke detectors and safety ladders in the home and by ensuring that all family members know about emergency exit strategies
- Learn about the nonspecific symptoms of CO poisoning and the need to seek attention for them, including:
- Headache
- Lightheadedness
- Nausea
- Impaired concentration
- Visual changes
- Realize that the source of exposure may not always be obvious and that certain subsets of patients, such as those with heart disease, may be at greater risk
- Emphasize these points in high-risk groups, including:
- People who heat, cook, or generate electricity with alternative combustion sources such as gasoline, kerosene, or charcoal
- Members of ethnic groups, such as recent Southeast Asian immigrants, who are more likely to use alternative indoor cooking appliances
- People who misuse indoor combustion appliances while intoxicated with alcohol
- People who use tools or recreational vehicles powered by internal combustion engines, especially in enclosed areas
- People who use methylene chloride as a paint stripper without adequate ventilation
| Background
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| Carlos Scheinkestel, MD, editorial consultant, has no financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies, biomedical device manufacturers, or health-care related organizations. Jeffrey T. Chapman, MD has no financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies, biomedical device manufacturers, or health-care related organizations. |
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The information included herein should never be used as a substitute
for clinical judgment and does not represent an official position of
ACP. Because all PIER modules are updated regularly, printed web pages
or PDFs may rapidly become obsolete. Therefore, PIER users should
compare the date of the last update on the website with any printout
to ensure that the information being referred to is the most current
available.
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PIER is copyrighted (c) 2008 by the American College of Physicians,
190 N. Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106-1572, USA.
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Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
