The Outcome of Hypoxic Encephalopathy Patients in the Poisoning Department of Urmia Hospitals: A Case Series

Abstract

Background: Hypoxic encephalopathy in adults is associated with different causes including Cardiorespiratory arrest, shock, and some poisonings such as carbon monoxide poisoning. Methods: In this case series study, all the poisoned patients who had hypoxic encephalopathy based on radiological findings and were admitted to the poisoning department of Taleghani and Imam Khomeini hospitals in Urmia between 2016 and 2016 were included. Demographic characteristics, type of poison, type of poisoning, imaging findings, mortality, and length of hospitalization were extracted from the available files. Findings: A total of 14 patients, all of whom were men, with an average age of 41.21 years, were examined. 64.3 of patients had a history of addiction. 85.7 of poisoning cases were unintentional. The most common intoxicant was methadone (42.6) and the most common cause of encephalopathy was cardiorespiratory arrest (50). The most common CT scan finding was diffuse edema and loss of white and gray matter differentiation, and the most common laboratory finding was leukocytosis. The average length of hospitalization was 34.4 days. The mortality rate was 85.7. Conclusion: Drug-consuming patients are at risk of overdose and possible occurrence of hypoxic encephalopathy, increasing the length of stay in hospitals, and death. © 2023 Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.