Citation

Farrow JR, Davis GJ, Roy TM, McCloud LC, Nichols GR. J. Forensic Sci. 1990; 35(6): 1448-1452.

Affiliation

Division of Respiratory and Environmental Medicine, University of Louisville, KY.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1990, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

2262778

Abstract

Fetal death due to acute carbon monoxide poisoning is rarely reported in the medical literature. Of the eight cases found in literature review, only one documented the fetal carboxyhemoglobin concentration. This paper reports a fetal death due to accidental nonlethal maternal carbon monoxide intoxication in which both maternal and fetal carboxyhemoglobin concentrations were obtained. The corrected carboxyhemoglobin concentration was 61% at the time of death in utero, while the maternal carboxyhemoglobin was measured at 7% after one hour of supplemental oxygen. The authors review the mechanisms of fetal death and emphasize the different carbon monoxide kinetics in the fetal circulation.

Language: en