EM Cases · Carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning — fire survivor resus station
ACEM Fellowship OSCE resus station testing CO recognition despite normal SpO2, 100% oxygen, co-oximetry, HBO criteria, and empirical cyanide treatment.
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Study tools
Target exams
ACEMFRCEMABEMFRCPCCCFPEMEBEEM
Prompt
An adult pulled from an enclosed house fire arrives confused with a falsely normal SpO2 and a rising lactate.
Station brief
Format. Clinical-management (resus) station, 11 minutes total — 4 minutes reading, 7 minutes active assessment. You are the Emergency Medicine consultant leading the resuscitation.
Candidate instruction. Manage the patient from the end of the trolley handover. State actions and reasoning aloud. The examiner plays the nursing team.
References3ShowHide
- [1]Weaver LK, Hopkins RO, Chan KJ, et al. Hyperbaric oxygen for acute carbon monoxide poisoning. N Engl J Med, 2002.PMID 12362006
- [2]Weaver LK. Clinical practice. Carbon monoxide poisoning. N Engl J Med, 2009.PMID 19297574
- [3]MacLennan L, Moiemen N. Management of cyanide toxicity in patients with burns. Burns, 2015.PMID 24994676