ABSTRACT
Superficial consideration suggests that hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) should be the optimal antidote for acute carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. It is a well-established form of therapy, albeit with a limited distribution of facilities, and the side-effect and complication profile is well established, manageable and rarely associated with longterm sequelae. By generating the highest tolerable intravascular partial pressure of oxygen, HBO provides the most rapid means available of simultaneously reversing cellular hypoxia and accelerating the elimination of CO, not only from its binding with hemoglobin, but also from intracellular binding sites.
