Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, nonirritating gas and an old
enemy to human health. Carbon monoxide poisoning is a rare illness, which is sometimes
hard to differentiate and diagnose. Emergency nurses need to be aware of this illness
and how to diagnose and treat it, as it is one of the most infamous poisons that silently
takes many lives. Carbon monoxide was the leading cause of poisoning death in the
United States from 1979 to 1988 according to a death certificate review (>5,000 deaths
per year).
1
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the 2005 National
Health Care Survey, there were over 500 unintentional deaths and greater than 2,000
suicides that were a direct result of carbon monoxide poisoning.
2
Half of the unintentional (non-fire) poisonings were from automobile exhaust; however,
smoke inhalation is estimated to be the greatest cause of accidental exposure.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Biography
Mark Goldstein, Michigan ENA, is EMS Coordinator, Department of Emergency Medicine, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Mich.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 01, 2008
Footnotes
Earn Up to 8.5 CE Hours. See page 592.
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
