A POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY STUDY OF PATIENTS WITH ACUTE CARBON-MONOXIDE POISONING TREATED BY HYPERBARIC-OXYGEN

Seven patients with an acute and severe carbon monoxide intoxication w ere treated with hyperbaric oxygen and underwent a positron emission t omographic examination 2-5 days after the acute event. Although the fi nal clinical outcome was good in all patients, ischaemic changes were observed. Three patients with temporary sequelae after hyperbaric oxyg en treatment showed the most severe changes, mainly in striatum and th alamus. Although positron emission tomographic examination cannot pred ict the final outcome, it can show the regions at risk for development of late complications following carbon monoxide poisoning.