Helps detect and treat victims while identifying source of CO poisoning

Masimo has reported that a new case study published has showed that noninvasive screening with Masimo carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO) provided emergency first responders with immediate and accurate detection of Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoned employees and enabled the identification of the source of the poisoning at a manufacturing plant.

The early detection and subsequent identification of the CO source helped avert a potential disaster that may have injured or cost the lives of numerous employees and overwhelmed both the local emergency medical services (EMS) system and area hospitals.

The portable, handheld Masimo Rad-57 Pulse CO-Oximeter provides an accurate and noninvasive way to detect elevated CO levels in the bloodstream in just seconds allowing emergency first responders to quickly and easily diagnose CO poisoning on-the-scene and initiate prompt, lifesaving treatment.

The published case report describes how a suburban fire department and EMS unit in Rock Springs, Georgia responded to a call for a sick employee at a local manufacturing plant. The first responders combined the use of both atmospheric CO testing and Pulse CO-Oximetry to successfully diagnose the cause of the employee’s illness and identify the source of the poisoning, sai dthe company.

All employees working inside the plant were evacuated and screened for CO poisoning by measuring their SpCO levels using the Masimo Rad-57. Although the source of the poisoning was still unknown, firefighters promptly treated employees with elevated SpCO levels ranging from 5-18% on the scene with high concentration oxygen.

In a second attempt to locate the source of the poisoning, firefighters marked the locations of the employees with the highest SpCO levels on a map of the plant and found that they were all working immediately under air conditioning vents in the assembly area. After tracing the air conditioning vents, firefighters determined that exhaust from the furnace in the foundry were being drawn into a nearby intake vent for the air conditioning system.

After tracing the air conditioning vents, firefighters determined that exhaust from the furnace in the foundry were being drawn into a nearby intake vent for the air conditioning system, said the company.