• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.169-178
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• 2001

After initial recovery from acute carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication, some patients occasionally undergo severe neuropsychiatric deterioration, which is called postanoxic delayed encephalopathy (sequelae). This is the clinical report about one patient, a 73-year-old man, diagnosed with delayed encephalopathy after acute CO intoxication. The symptoms of the patient were mental dysfunction including memory impairment and disorientation, abnormal behavior, incontinence and mutism. He had completely recovered after an aonxic episode, but the neurological symptoms that developed were preceded by an interval of apparent normality (the 'lucid interval'). We characterized him as suffering deficiency syndrome of the heart and prescribed for him Bokreongbosim-tang and Guipi-tang, and thereafter his symptoms were remarkably improved. For the evaluation of clinical improvement, we use the Modified Barthel Index (MBI), Canadian Neurologic Scale (CNS), and the Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE)

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.86-97
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• 1991

To obtain the basic data of prognosis of acute carbon monoxide(CO) intoxication, one hundred and sixteen cases of CO intoxication defined by carboxyhemoglobin(COHb) and admitted via emergency room of Yeungnam University Hospital from Oct. '85 to April' 89 have been clinically analyzed and evaluated, including delayed postanoxic encephalopathy(DPE) and the following results were obtained. 1. The ratio of male to female was 1:1.5 and mental state was drowsy mostly(26.2% of 116 cases) 2. The more disturbed the mental state, the more decreased was the arterial pH and $PaCO_2$, which may be the result of metabolic acidosis. 3. The early laboratory findings in patients of CO intoxication were as follows : leukocytosis-65.5%, increase of hematocrit-23.3%, hyperglycemia-19.8%, increase of GPT-19.8% increase of creatinine-0.9%, and glucosuria-12.1%. 4. The early findings of EKG were abnormal in 35.3% : change of rhythm-25.0%, abnormal ST segment-15.5% (change of rhythm and abonormal ST segment-5.2%) but the conduction disorder was not present. 5. The abnormal EEG above mild degree was 93.1%, of which moderate was most frequent(80.2%). 6. The incidence of DPE was 7.8% among all admitted CO patients. DPE cases had long duration of exposure time(8 hours), severe leukocytosis(20,000) and an abnormal EEG(MA).