Absence of symptoms with carboxyhemoglobin levels of 16-23

It has been generally accepted that carboxyhemoglobin levels between 10-20% produce mild headaches, dizziness and/or nausea. Experimental double blind exposures of 18 healthy, nonsmoking young men at rest to 7,000-24,000 ppm CO, designed to elevate COHb to 15-20% in 3-5 minutes, were followed by exp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNeurotoxicology and teratology Vol. 9; no. 5; p. 345
Main Authors Benignus, V A, Kafer, E R, Muller, K E, Case, M W
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.09.1987
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning - blood
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning - etiology
Carboxyhemoglobin - metabolism
Dizziness - blood
Headache - blood
Humans
Male
Nausea - blood
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Summary:It has been generally accepted that carboxyhemoglobin levels between 10-20% produce mild headaches, dizziness and/or nausea. Experimental double blind exposures of 18 healthy, nonsmoking young men at rest to 7,000-24,000 ppm CO, designed to elevate COHb to 15-20% in 3-5 minutes, were followed by exposure to 232 ppm CO designed to maintain COHb level for a total of 130 minutes. Resulting COHb values were 16-23%. These COHb values did not produce significantly more symptoms (as reported in an open-ended questioning) than reported in the control group (n = 23). Subjects were especially queried about headache, dizziness and nausea. The symptoms which were previously reported in clinical studies of CO poisoning may have resulted from CO exposure in combination with (a) exposure to other substances, (b) stress due to the event that precipitated medical attention or (c) higher COHb levels before the first blood sample was taken.
ISSN:0892-0362
DOI:10.1016/0892-0362(87)90029-8