Acute Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Diffusion MR Imaging Findings

Summary: During the acute stage of carbon monoxide poi-soning, diffusion MR images obtained at b 1000 s/mm2 revealed high signal intensity lesions in the white matter, consistent with restricted diffusion. Low apparent diffusion coefficient values (0.18–0.34 103 mm2/s) were noted in the affected white matter regions. Follow-up MR imaging performed 16 days later revealed disappearance of white matter lesions, suggesting that during the acute stage of carbon monoxide poisoning, white matter can be more sensitive than gray matter to ischemia. The imaging features of carbon monoxide poison-ing that have been described have been mainly MR imaging features (1–7). Only two reports are available that include diffusion MR imaging and proton MR spectroscopy of acute, interval, and chronic stages o