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Abstract
Objective: The aim of the present study was to describe the epidemiology of unintentional carbon monoxide (CO) poisonings (between 2001 and 2011) in Ankara, Turkey.
Methods: Data were collected from the records of Ankara Branch of Council of Forensic Medicine and the licensed official institutes and hospitals for medico-legal autopsies. A total of 10 720 medico-legal autopsy reports were obtained and reviewed by the authors.
Results: Among 622 fatal poisoning cases during the period, 380 deaths were due to unintentional CO poisoning. The mean CO saturation of the groups was 55.4 ± 13.4 (% saturation). The minimum and maximum levels of CO in blood was 3.6 and 86.5 (% saturation), respectively. Of all the fatal poisonings determined by Ankara Branch of Council of Forensic Medicine, CO poisoning was the most common mortality cause (61.1%). Among the cases, 301 (79.2%) were found to be death in their houses, 43 (11.3%) in hospitals, 15 (3.9%) in their workplaces and 11 (2.9%) in some public places such as park and garden. Most of the cases were from the capital city of Turkey, Ankara (n = 203, 53.4%). When we compared the cities according to their population, it was realized that the highest death rate due to CO poisoning was in Kirikkale (12.3/100 000), followed by Karabuk (8.3/100 000), Cankiri (7.8/100 000) and Kirsehir (5.0/100 000).
Discussion and conclusion: These findings add new data to the pool of knowledge in terms of the need of safety, proper heating system instructions and more education on CO poisoning in Turkey.