Citation

Ershad M, Melisiotis A, Gaskill Z, Kelly M, Hamilton R. Clin. Pract. Cases Emerg. Med. 2020; 4(1): 51-54.

Affiliation

Drexel University College of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine)

DOI

10.5811/cpcem.2019.10.44265

PMID

32064425

PMCID

PMC7012551

Abstract

Formic acid, when combined with sulfuric acid, gets dehydrated to form carbon monoxide (CO). A 27-year-old female was found unconscious inside a car, next to a container with a mixture of sulfuric acid and formic acid. Concentrations of up to 400 parts per million of CO were measured inside the car post ventilation. Serum carboxyhemoglobin level was 15% after receiving 100% oxygen for two hours. The patient received hyperbaric oxygen therapy after which she was extubated with normal mental status. On follow-up after three months, she demonstrated neurocognitive abnormalities suggestive of delayed neurological sequelae from CO exposure.

Copyright: © 2020 Ershad et al.

Language: en