CO poisoning is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in disaster and post-disaster situations, when widespread power outages most likely occur (1, 2). The NYSDOH Syndromic Surveillance System receives daily ED visit chief complaint data from 140 NYS (excluding New York City) hospitals. Daily power outage data are available from the NYS Department of Public Service (NYSDPS). These data can be used to estimate the risk of CO-EDs and provide useful information for public health situational awareness and emergency response management during disaster events.
Objective
1) To identify carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in three most affected New York State (NYS) counties (Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester) during and immediately after Hurricane Sandy with hospital emergency department (ED) chief complaint data reported daily to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH). 2) To explore the relationship between power outage and the numbers of CO-related ED visits (CO-EDs).