Exposure to Extremely High Concentrations of Carbon Dioxide: A Clinical Description of a Mass Casualty Incident

Pinchas Halpern*, Yosef Raskin, Patrick Sorkine, Arthur Oganezov

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Scopus citations

Abstract

Clinical reports on unintentional mass exposure to extreme concentrations of carbon dioxide are rare. We describe an industrial incident caused by a container of liquid carbon dioxide that was unintentionally opened in an enclosed working environment. Twenty-five casualties reached our emergency department. Symptoms included dyspnea, cough, dizziness, chest pain, and headache. ECGs (n=15) revealed ST-segment changes in 2 (13.3%) patients, atrial fibrillation in 2 patients, and non-Q wave myocardial infarction in 1 patient. Chest radiographs (n=22) revealed diffuse or patchy alveolar patterns, consistent with pneumonitis, in 6 (27%) patients and pulmonary edema in 2 (9%) patients. Eleven (44%) patients were admitted to the hospital: 8 were discharged 24 hours later and the others within 8 days. No patient died. Exposure to high concentrations of carbon dioxide resulted in significant but transient cardiopulmonary morbidity with no mortality when victims were promptly evacuated and given supportive therapy. Cardiac complications were frequently observed and should be actively sought.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)196-199
Number of pages4
JournalAnnals of Emergency Medicine
Volume43
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2004

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