Occult Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Letters and Corrections1 January 1988Occult Carbon Monoxide PoisoningDAVID A. NARDONE, M.D., THOMAS G. KELSEY, M.D.DAVID A. NARDONE, M.D.Search for more papers by this author, THOMAS G. KELSEY, M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-108-1-150 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptTo the editor: The article by Heckering and colleagues (1) contains a potentially useful message. Patients with either headache or dizziness, who lack a history of gas stove usage and affected cohabitants, have a probability of carbon monoxide poisoning (4 in 89 patients, 4.5%) in which observation without performance of a carboxyhemoglobin level is indicated. Alternatively, the pretest probability for patients with headache or dizziness, with a history of either gas stove usage or affected cohabitants, is 9.5% (4 in 42 patients). For this latter group carboxyhemoglobin testing is indicated. Thus, the no-test:test threshold for carboxyhemoglobin poisoning is a probability...Reference1. HECKERLING P, LEIKIN J, MATUREN A, and PERKINS J. Predictors of occult carbon monoxide poisoning in patients with headache and dizziness. Ann Intern Med. 1987;107:174-6. LinkGoogle Scholar1. HECKERLING P, LEIKIN J, MATUREN A, and PERKINS J. Predictors of occult carbon monoxide poisoning in patients with headache and dizziness. Ann Intern Med. 1987;107:174-6. LinkGoogle Scholar2. PAUKER S and KASSIRER J. The threshold approach to clinical decision making. N Engl J Med. 1980;302:1109-17. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. MYERS R, LINBERG S, and COWLEY R. Carbon monoxide poisoning: the injury and its treatment. JACEP. 1978;8:479-84. CrossrefGoogle Scholar4. GOLDFRANK L, KIRSTEIN R, LEWIN N, and WEISMAN R. Carbon monoxide (the red alert). In: GOLDFRANK LR, ed. Toxicologic Emergencies: A Comprehensive Handbook in Problem Solving. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts; 1982: 223-30. Google Scholar5. JACKSON D and MENGES H. Accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. JAMA. 1980;243:772-4. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: DAVID A. NARDONE, M.D.; THOMAS G. KELSEY, M.D. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byEpidemiology of Acute Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in a Spanish Region 1 January 1988Volume 108, Issue 1Page: 150-151KeywordsCarbon monoxideCarboxyhemoglobinHeadaches ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 1 January 1988 PDF downloadLoading ...