Susceptibility-weighted imaging findings of subacute delayed carbon monoxide intoxication: A report of five cases

Brain injury from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning occurs due to tissue hypoxia and direct CO-mediated histotoxicity. Recently developed susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) is sensitive for the detection of accumulated hemosiderin and iron secondary to cerebral hemorrhage. Therefore, we hypothesized that SWI may be helpful for identifying petechial hemorrhagic transformation secondary to acute hypoxic damage during subacute CO intoxication. Our case series with subacute CO intoxication revealed that the SWIs of all patients showed low signal intensities in the globus pallidus, representing the accumulation of iron or calcium secondary to hypoxic damage from acute CO intoxication. These results suggest that SWI may be a useful MR technique for illustrating brain damage in subacute delayed CO intoxication.