TY - JOUR PY - 2014// TI - The impacts of acute carbon monoxide poisoning on the brain: Longitudinal clinical and (99m)Tc ethyl cysteinate brain SPECT characterization of patients with persistent and delayed neurological sequelae JO - Clinical neurology and neurosurgery A1 - Tsai, Chung-Fen A1 - Yip, Ping-Keung A1 - Chen, Shao-Yuan A1 - Lin, Jen-Cheng A1 - Yeh, Zai-Ting A1 - Kung, Lan-Yu A1 - Wang, Cheng-Yi A1 - Fan, Yu-Ming SP - 21 EP - 27 VL - 119 IS - N2 - OBJECTIVE: Acute carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning poses a significant threat to the central nervous system. It can cause brain injury and diverse neurological deficits including persistent neurological sequelae (PNS) and delayed neurological sequelae (DNS). The study aimed to investigate the long-term impacts of acute CO poisoning on brain perfusion and neurological function, and to explore potential differences between PNS and DNS patients.

METHODS: We evaluated brain perfusion using (99m)Tc ethyl cysteinate (ECD) brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and assessed clinical neurological symptoms and signs one month following acute poisoning. For DNS patients, ECD SPECT and clinical evaluation were performed when their delayed symptoms appeared. All patients had follow-up SPECT imaging, along with clinical assessments six months following poisoning.

RESULTS: 12 PNS and 12 DNS patients were recruited between 2007 and 2010. Clinically, the main characteristic presentations were cognitive decline, emotional instability, and gait disturbance. SPECT imaging demonstrated consistent frontal hypoperfusion of varying severities in all patients, which decreased in severity at follow-up imaging. DNS patients usually had more severe symptoms and perfusion defects, along with worse clinical outcomes than the PNS group.

CONCLUSION: These results suggest that acute CO poisoning might lead to long term brain injuries and neurological sequelae, particularly in DNS patients.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0303-8467 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clineuro.2014.01.005 ID - ref1 ER -