CO Poisoning Emergency Department Visits Data

The numbers and rates of unintentional carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning emergency department (ED) visits by year, gender, or age group in Iowa.

The numbers and rates of unintentional CO poisoning emergency department (ED) visits based on if the CO poisoning was related to a fire, non-fire, or undetermined exposure.

If a measure is going up or down over time.

If a segment of a population is at higher risk for a visit to the ED resulting from unintentional CO poisoning in Iowa.

To inform the public about unintentional CO poisoning ED visits in Iowa.

State and local partners can use these data for program planning and evaluation.

What the source of exposure is for CO poisoning

The total burden of CO poisoning in a population

Information about cases where the CO exposure was intentional (suicide, assault).

The number of people hospitalized or who visited the ED for CO poisoning. Because personal identifiers are removed from the hospital discharge data before analysis, individuals who have multiple hospitalizations cannot be identified.

Hospitalization and emergency department data are collected by the Iowa Hospital Association on behalf of HHS in accordance with Iowa Code section 135.166.

Bridged-race population estimates from the National Center for Health Statistics and US Census. Data from 2000 to 2009 are based on intercensal population estimates and 2010-most current year are based on the postcensal population estimates.

The Iowa Public Health Tracking portal displays Emergency Department visit data from the year 2003 through the most recent year of data available.

Emergency Department visits are defined as Iowa residents who are treated and released or subsequently admitted to a facility in Iowa.

CO poisoning hospitalizations/ED visits are defined as having a diagnosis of acute, unintentional CO poisoning

CO poisoning is defined as the International Classification of Disease 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes that begin with 986.

CO poisoning is defined as the International Classification of Disease 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) codes that begin with T58.

Additional diagnosis code detail is used to exclude cases of intentional exposure, and classify the exposure as fire, non-fire, or undetermined.

Symptoms of CO poisoning are nonspecific and can be easily misdiagnosed, resulting in uncounted hospitalizations or ED visits. CO poisoning deaths may be misclassified and attributed to other causes.

Since only those with the most severe or acute symptoms of CO poisoning are hospitalized, treated at emergency departments, or die, these data are not appropriate for estimating the total burden of CO poisoning in a population.

Multiple hospital or emergency department admissions by the same patient cannot be identified, and are not excluded.

Iowa residents discharged from hospitals in surrounding states are not included, so hospitalization and emergency department visit rates for counties in which residents are likely to receive care in a surrounding state may be underestimated. Rates for counties in which residents are likely to visit hospitals that do not submit data to the Iowa Hospital Association (e.g., Veteran's Administration, Indian Health Services hospitals, and institutionalized populations) may also be artificially low.