Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Poses Serious Threat to Clevelanders During Winter Months:

In the past two weeks, Local Hospital Has Treated Eight Patients in Hyperbaric Chamber

Editor’s Note: Dr. Joseph Sopko is available for immediate on-camera and/or telephone interviews regarding this serious winter-related threat and the Hyperbaric Chamber treatment model. We may also be able to connect you with a patient or patients who have undergone the life-saving treatment.

NOTE: St. Vincent Charity Hospital is the only Cleveland-area institution that uses the hyperbaric chamber for emergency treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The Problem

As the cold reality of winter besets Northeast Ohio, cases of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning increase drastically. Cleveland’s downtown St. Vincent Charity Hospital has treated eight patients for carbon monoxide poisoning in only the first few days of December.

Incidence of CO poisoning increases dramatically during winter months for several reasons:

Operating as gasoline engine without adequate ventilation
Residents who cannot afford gas or electric heat often resort to unconventional (and unsafe) methods for heating their homes, such as kerosene heaters, open ovens, even charcoal grills.
Extinguished pilot lights in furnaces and gas stoves from drafty homes
Burning unsafe fires
Clogged chimney flues

CO poisoning can happen within a matter of minutes and is responsible for more deaths than any other single poison. This odorless, colorless poison can hurt you slowly in low levels, can cause permanent neurological damage at moderate levels or prove fatal. Protection against this deadly poison is as easy as installing a simple carbon monoxide detector in your home or office.

CO is produced whenever fuel, such as gas, oil, kerosene, wood or charcoal is burned. The amount of CO produced while using fuel-burning appliances is usually not harmful. It becomes hazardous when appliances are used improperly or are not functioning adequately.

CO poisoning is a serious threat. By educating ourselves on the dangers of CO, we can significantly reduce the health risk as well as save lives. Although anyone can be at risk, the following people are most susceptible to CO poisoning:

Pregnant women
Infants
The elderly
Those with chronic heart or lung conditions

The Therapy

One of the only hospitals in Northeast Ohio to have a Hyperbaric Chamber, St. Vincent Charity Hospital is often the preferred treatment center for persons with CO poisoning. St. Vincent Charity Hospital opened the first hyperbaric chamber in 1993 based on the city’s need and the Hospital’s commitment to serve that need.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) offered in St. Vincent Charity Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit is a medical treatment that delivers pure oxygen to the body via a glass-enclosed, cylinder-shaped oxygen chamber at high pressure. The pure oxygen is used to speed and enhance the body’s natural ability to remove toxins, such as CO, from the blood.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Fast Facts:

How Carbon Monoxide is produced in the Home
CO is a colorless, odorless and poisonous gas that is produced by the incomplete burning of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels. Appliances fueled with natural gas, liquefied petroleum (LP gas), oil, kerosene, coal or wood may produce CO. Burning charcoal and running cars also produce CO.

CO Poisoning Statistics
Every year, more than 200 people in the United States die from CO produced by fuel-burning appliances (furnaces, ranges, water heaters, room heaters). Several thousand people go to hospital emergency rooms for treatment for CO poisoning.

Symptoms
The initial symptoms of CO poisoning are similar to the flu (but without the fever). They include headache, fatigue, and shortness of breath, nausea and dizziness.

Recommendations if CO Poisoning is Suspected

If you think you are experiencing any of the symptoms of CO poisoning, get fresh air immediately. Open windows and doors for more ventilation, turn off any combustion appliance, and leave the house.
Call 911 to report your symptoms. You could lose consciousness and die if you do nothing.
Contact a doctor immediately for a proper diagnosis. Be sure to tell the doctor that you suspect CO poisoning is causing your problems. Prompt medical attention is imperative.

How to Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Have flues and chimneys checked for security and blockages.
At the beginning of every heating season have a trained professional check all your fuel-burning appliances, such as oil and gas furnaces, gas water heaters, gas ranges and ovens, gas dryers, gas or kerosene space heaters, fire places and wood stoves.
Install and maintain appliances according to the manufacturers' instructions.
Never idle the car in the garage regardless of whether or not the door of the garage is opened or closed; fumes can build up quickly and contaminate the air in the garage and living area of your home.
Never use a gas oven to heat your home, even for a short time.
Never use a charcoal grill indoors.
Never sleep in a room heated by a gas or kerosene space heater that does not have proper ventilation.
Do not use any gasoline-powered engines, such as mowers, weed trimmers, snow blowers, chain saws, small engines or generators in enclosed spaces.
Install one or more CO detectors according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Fast Facts:

History of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)
Use of hyperbaric oxygen chambers date back to the 1890s when it was commonly used to control infection. It was then used by the U.S. Navy more than 70 years ago to treat divers suffering from decompression sickness. The 1980s brought about the resurgence of HBOT, which was considered a “space age” concept.

Where It’s Offered
St. Vincent Charity Hospital opened Cleveland’s first Hyperbaric Medicine Center in 1993. HBOT is a primary treatment option for the care of wounds and ulcers, and is a critical treatment tool for carbon monoxide poisoning.

Today, St. Vincent Charity Hospital is still the only hospital in Cleveland to offer HBOT on an emergency basis.

How it Works
During therapy, the patient breathes pure, 100 percent oxygen (the air we breathe typically contains 19-21 percent oxygen). The concentration of oxygen is diffused into the bloodstream and is thus raised many times above normal, up to 300 percent – three times the oxygen available via an oxygen mask. In addition to the blood, all body fluids are exposed to the healing benefits of the oxygen.

Other Medical Uses for the Hyperbaric Chamber, in addition to CO poisoning:

Wound healing treatment (brings oxygen to hard-to-heal wounds)
Radiation injury following cancer treatment
Crush injuries
Infection control
Smoke inhalation
Bloodless surgery (to spread high concentrations of oxygen into the blood of post-surgical patients and trauma patients who have suffered severe blood loss).