Carbon monoxide-induced cortical visual loss: treatment with hyperbaric oxygen four years later.

What Researchers Did

Researchers presented a case study of a 21-year-old woman who developed visual loss after carbon monoxide poisoning and was treated with hyperbaric oxygen.

What They Found

The patient developed cortical blindness three days after carbon monoxide poisoning (carboxyhemoglobin level 46%). Four years later, her visual acuity was 0.2 in both eyes, and a PET scan showed reduced metabolism in the bilateral posterior temporal and occipital lobes. After 50 hyperbaric oxygen sessions over three months, her visual acuity improved to 0.5 in both eyes, with increased brain metabolism detected on post-treatment PET scans.

Canadian Relevance

There is no specific Canadian connection mentioned in this study.

Study Limitations

The primary limitation is that this was a single case study, preventing generalizable conclusions about the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen for chronic carbon monoxide-induced brain injury.