Cerebral perfusion semi-quantitative imaging for assessing the treatment of delayed encephalopathy from carbon monoxide poisoning

Objective To evaluate the effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) combined with drug therapy on patients with delayed encephalopathy caused by carbon monoxide poisoning ( COP). Methods Twenty to forty sessions of HBO therapy were used to treat 34 COP patients. Assessment relied on 99mTc-ethyl cysteinate dimer (~(99m)Tc-ECD) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging of cerebral perfusion before and after treatment. Results After HBO therapy, cerebral perfusion in the COP patients improved significantly. There was a significant difference of the SPECT images before and after treatment. Conclusions SPECT imaging of cerebral perfusion can play an important role in the diagnosis of delayed encephalopathy caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, and it can be used for the therapeutic surveillance of HBO treatment. Key words: Hvperbaric oxygen;  Encephalopathy;  Carbon monoxide poisoning;  Single photon emission computed tomography