Analysis of hospital admissions due to accidental non-fire-related carbon monoxide poisoning in England, between 2001 and 2010.
Ghosh, Rebecca E;
Close, Rebecca;
McCann, Lucy J;
Crabbe, Helen;
Garwood, Kevin;
Hansell, Anna L;
Leonardi, Giovanni;
(2015)
Analysis of hospital admissions due to accidental non-fire-related carbon monoxide poisoning in England, between 2001 and 2010.
Journal of public health (Oxford, England), 38 (1).
pp. 76-83.
ISSN 1741-3842
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdv026
Permanent Identifier
Use this Digital Object Identifier when citing or linking to this resource.
BACKGROUND: Accidental non-fire-related (ANFR) carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a cause of fatalities and hospital admissions. This is the first study that describes the characteristics of ANFR CO hospital admissions in England. METHODS: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) inpatient data for England between 2001 and 2010 were used. ANFR CO poisoning admissions were defined as any mention of ICD-10 code T58: toxic effect of CO and X47: accidental poisoning by gases or vapours, excluding ICD-10 codes potentially related to fires (X00-X09, T20-T32 and Y26). RESULTS: There were 2463 ANFR CO admissions over the 10-year period (annual rate: 0.49/100 000); these comprised just under half (48.7%) of all non-fire-related (accidental and non-accidental) CO admissions. There was seasonal variability, with more admissions in colder winter months. Higher admission rates were observed in the north of England. Just over half (53%) of ANFR admissions were male, and the highest rates of ANFR admissions were in those aged >80 years. CONCLUSION: The burden of ANFR CO poisoning is preventable. The results of this study suggest an appreciable burden of CO and highlight differences that may aid targeting of public health interventions.