Carbon monoxide poisoning with hippocampi lesions on MRI: cases report and literature review

• Published in: BMC neurology Vol. 24; no. 1; p. 159
• Main Authors: Li, Wenxia, Meng, Jun, Lei, Jing, Li, Cheng, Yue, Wei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 11-05-2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adult; Brain; Brain damage; Carbon monoxide; Carbon monoxide poisoning; Carbon Monoxide Poisoning - complications; Carbon Monoxide Poisoning - diagnostic imaging; Case report; Case reports; Case studies; Central nervous system; Coal; Cognitive ability; Coma; Complications and side effects; Consciousness; Diagnosis; Edema; Emergency medical care; Encephalopathy; Fecal incontinence; Female; Health aspects; Heart rate; Hemoglobin; Hippocampi; Hippocampus; Hippocampus (Brain); Hippocampus - diagnostic imaging; Hippocampus - pathology; Hospitalization; Humans; Hyperbaric oxygen therapy; Hypoxia; Ischemia; Lesions; Literature reviews; Magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Memory; Middle Aged; Neuroimaging; Oxygen therapy; Patients; Physiological aspects; Poisoning; Prognosis; Risk factors; Vital signs; China; Case report; Poisoning; Carbon monoxide; Hippocampi; Magnetic resonance imaging
• ISSN: 1471-2377; 1471-2377
• DOI: 10.1186/s12883-024-03668-2

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is now one of the leading causes of poisoning-related mortality worldwide. The central nervous system is the most vulnerable structure in acute CO poisoning. MRI is of great significance in the diagnosis and prognosis of CO toxic encephalopathy. The imaging features of CO poisoning are diverse. We report atypical hippocampal lesions observed on MRI in four patients after acute CO exposure.
We report four patients who presented to the emergency department with loss of consciousness. The diagnosis of CO poisoning was confirmed on the basis of their detailed history, physical examination and laboratory tests. Brain MRI in all of these patients revealed abnormal signal intensity in hippocampi bilaterally. They all received hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The prognosis of all four patients was poor.
Hippocampi, as a relatively rare lesion on MRI of CO poisoning, is of important significance both in the early and delayed stages of acute CO poisoning. In this article, we summarize the case reports of hippocampal lesions on MRI in patients with CO poisoning in recent years, in order to provide reference for the diagnosis and prognosis of CO poisoning.