A case of carbon monoxide poisoning.

INDIAN PEDIATRICS 291 VOLUME 41MARCH 17, 2004 A 12-year-old boy was brought unconscious to our casualty nearly 12 hours after he fell asleep in a covered tractor, close to a working generator. He was normotensive, had decerebrate rigidity, equal and reacting pupils, normal optic fundi and no focal deficits. Pulse oximetry showed 95% saturation. ECG revealed sinus tachycardia. Liver and kidney functions were normal. Blood spectrophotometry showed a band of carboxyhemoglobin (COHb). CT scan revealed bilateral symmetrical white matter hypodensity and bilateral round hypodensities in the globus pallidus extending to the internal capsule (Fig. 1). He was treated with cerebral decongestive measures and oxygen (10 L/min) delivered by facemask. He expired on the third day of admission. Autopsy disclosed softening of the globus pallidus and other evidence of generalized hypoxic damage.