Abstract

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless and colorless poisonous gas produced from many common uncomplete combustions processes in poorly ventilated areas, including fumes from car engines, gas stoves, or burning charcoal. Acute CO poisoning is responsible for 4.6 deaths per million worldwide and affects approximately 50,000 people in the United States annually. CO is a difficult-to-diagnose respiratory poison due to abnormally high oxygen saturation in arterial blood, owing to the binding characteristic of carboxyhemoglobin (COHb). Efforts to investigate this issue are necessary to offer treatment for those afflicted with this condition. This study aims to determine the half-life of COHb under the different settings of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) utilizing in-vitro studies. The transition from carboxyhemoglobin to oxyhemoglobin will also be evaluated. Once determined, we will investigate the effectiveness of HFNC as a method to deliver oxygen which can serve as the basis of an operable device to treat acute CO poisoning.