Acute carbon monoxide poisoning in a poisoning referral center

Background: acute carbon monoxide poisoning (cop) is a common problem that occurs more frequently during winter and leads to serious complications. in our poisoning referral center, the incidence and complications of acute cop has not been evaluated previously. therefore; we designed a study to evaluate its significance in our center. methods & materials: 111 cases of acute cop admitted during five last years period were studied retrospectively by means of data collection forms. results: cop was common in ages 21-30 years. the principal exposure sites were living rooms (36.9%) and bathrooms (31.5%). the majority of the cases were due to malfunctioning gas heaters (63.1%). decreased level of consciousness (63.9%) was the most common clinical manifestations on admission. none of the poisonings were suicidal. only two patients died of the poisoning. conclusion: in conclusion, cop is relatively uncommon in our center despite the huge turnover of patients. educational programs are needed to warn the public about the equipment that generate co and the general clinical symptoms of co poisoning.