Effect of Hydrogen Peroxide on Recovery of Acute Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Keimyung Medical Journal 1984;3(1):33-42.

과산화수소가 급성일산화탄소 중독의 회복에 미치는 영향

박원균; 채의업; 주영은; 이원정

Abstract

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning has been considered as one of the major environmental hazards in Korea because of the wide-spread usage of the anthracite coal briquet as a main domestic fuel for cooking and heating. It has been known that the CO poisoning was due to the tissue hypoxia by the great affinity of CO with the hemoglobin. Therefore, inhalation of the pure oxygen(02) under the high atmospheric pressure has been used to rapid elimination of CO from the hemoglobin. Hydrogen peroxide(H202) was easily decomposed into water and 02 under the presence of catalase and peroxidase in the blood. The 02 liberated from the H202, instead of pulmonary 02 inhalation, could be supplied into the hypoxic tissues of the CO poisoning. This experiment was done in order to evaluate the effect of intravenous H202 administration on the elimination of CO from the hemoglobin in the recovery of the acute CO poisoning. Rabbits weighting about 2kg were exposed to 0.5% CO gas mixture with room air for 30 minutes. After acute CO poisoning was done, eighteen rabbits were divided into four groups- The first group was exposed to the room air during the recovery from the acute CO poisoning. The second group was inhalated with 100% 02 gas during the recovery. The third group was administered intravenously with 10ml of 0.5% H302 solution for the first 30 minutes of the recovery period in the room air. The fourth group was administered intravenously with 20ml of 0.5% H202 solution for the first 60 minutes of the recovery period in the room air. The arterial blood was sampled before and after the CO poisoning and in 30’ 60 and 90 minutes of the recovery period, and the blood pH, Pco2 and Po2 were measured anaerobically with a Blood Gas Analyzer and the saturation percentage of carboxyhemoglobin(HbCO) was measured by the Spectrophotometric method. The effect of intravenous H202 administration on the recovery from the acute CO poisoning was observed and compared with the room air group and the 100% 02 group. The results obtained from this experiment are as follows: There were no significant changes of pH and Pco2 in each group for 90 minutes of the recovery period. Po2 was increased significantly in the 100% 02 group comparing to the room air group. On the contrary Po2 was decreased in the 0.5% H202 group I and H, and this changes was statistically significant(p<0.05) at 30 minutes in the 0.5% H202 group I and at 60 minutes in the 0.5% H202 group II during the recovery period. In the 0. 5% H202 group I, diminution in the HbCO saturation was slower than in the room air group and maintained a high HbCO saturation at 60 and 90 minutes during the recovery period. But in both 0.5% H202 group H and 100% 02 group, diminution in the HbCO saturation was faster than in the room air group during the first 30 minutes of the recovery period, and it became slower thereafter.