Can indices of myocardial damage predict carbon monoxide poisoning outcomes?

Abstract Background Carbon monoxide causes electrical, functional, and morphological changes in the heart. It is not clear, however, whether the indices of myocardial damage can predict the patient’s prognosis after carbon monoxide poisoning. This retrospective study aimed to investigate the relation between the carboxyhemoglobin level and electrocardiographic (ECG) changes and whether the ECG changes and troponin I levels are related to the patient’s prognosis after carbon monoxide poisoning. Results Carboxyhemoglobin, troponin I, and ECG parameters were measured in 70 patients with carbon monoxide poisoning. The QT and RR intervals were measured for each ECG lead in all patients, and the corrected QT interval and corrected QT dispersion were calculated. The correlation between the maximum corrected QT interval and the carboxyhemoglobin level was significant (P = 0.0072, R2 = 0.1017), as were the relationships between QT dispersion and carboxyhemoglobin (P < 0.001, R2 = 0.2358) and the corrected QT dispersion and carboxyhemoglobin (P < 0.001, R2 = 0.2613). The multivariate logistic analysis showed that the significant predictors of sequential disability were hyperbaric oxygen therapy (P = 0.0182), corrected QT dispersion (P = 0.0062), and troponin I level (P = 0.0002). Conclusions Patients’ prognosis following carbon monoxide poisoning can be predicted based on corrected QT dispersion and the troponin I level. Patients with myocardial damage should be monitored not only for their cardiovascular outcome but also for their neurological outcome and their prognosis.