CO poisoning poses a significant public health burden. It is preventable, yet it remains a leading cause of poisoning in the United States. An effective surveillance system is very important for targeting and monitoring CO poisoning.Methods or Description: ED data was analyzed from the Missouri Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-based Epidemics (ESSENCE). The ED chief complaints of CO poisoning in ESSENCE contain keywords such as 'carbon' or 'monoxide'. The Missouri Health Strategic Architectures and Information Cooperative (MOHSAIC) database was used to collect the other information about the CO poisoning cases. Statistical Analysis Software (SAS) (version 9.3) was applied for all the analyses in this study.
Objective
This study demonstrated the utility and importance of ED data as a surveillance tool as cases of CO poisoning were identified in ESSENCE that were not identified in the passive surveillance system (MOHSAIC). The study also demonstrated the potential of ED data to assist in developing effective, more targeted prevention strategies for CO poisoning.