Relationship Between Mini-Mental Status Examination Score, Blood Carboxyhemoglobin Level, and Poisoning Severity in Cases of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Objectives Carbon monoxide poisoning (COP) is one of the causes of hypoxic encephalopathy. The Mini-Mental Status Examination Scale (MMSES) is useful for evaluating the severity of hypoxic encephalopathy. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the severity of poisoning, carboxyhemoglobin (CoHb) levels, and the MMSES among patients admitted to the emergency department with carbon monoxide poisoning. Methods Patients who were diagnosed with acute COP between February 2006 and February 2007 at Ondokuz Mayis University Faculty of Medicine Emergency Department were evaluated prospectively. According to the severity of poisoning, patients were subdivided into three groups: mild, moderate, and severe. Results Fifty-one patients were included in our study. The ratio of females to males was 1.125. The average patient age at admission was 38.4 +/- 16.5 years. The frequency of carbon monoxide poisoning among all admissions was 0.35%, and the frequency among all poisoning cases was 7.89%. Headache, nausea, dizziness, and weakness were the most frequent symptoms. Twenty of the patients (39.2%) had mild poisoning, 25 (49%) had moderate poisoning, and 6 (11.7%) had severe poisoning. While the relationship between severity of poisoning and COHb level was not significant, the relationships between MMSES and COHb level and between MMSES and poisoning severity were significant. Conclusions The MMSES scores of the patients admitted to the emergency department were negatively correlated with the severity of poisoning and CoHb levels.