Carbon Monoxide Toxicity in Human Fire Victims

Arterial blood gases and carbon monoxide hemoglobin analyses were done on 13 patients admitted to the University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics emergency room after exposure to smoke or fire (house fires). Significant levels of carbon monoxide hemoglobin in each of the 13 patients explained in retrospect the signs and symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning (headache, weakness, confusion, and reckless behavior) that were present in each patient to varying degrees. The study suggests that the surprisingly high incidence of carbon monoxide hemoglobin in house-fire victims and firemen warrants oxygen therapy at the site of the fire when feasible.