J Emerg Med
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Patients exposed to pressurized liquids or gases present unique diagnostic and treatment challenges to the Emergency Physician. The potential for injury depends upon the properties of the chemical in addition to the thermodynamic effects from exposure to a pressurized substance. We present two cases of exposure to pressurized ammonia during an industrial accident. One patient's symptoms were consistent with an ammonia alkali burn, whereas the other patient's symptoms were more characteristic of a significant thermal injury caused by the rapid expansion and evaporation of a pressurized liquid.
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Seizures are generally regarded as a manifestation of extreme, generally near-fatal carbon monoxide poisoning. A case is described in which a seizure attributable to carbon monoxide poisoning occurred in a small child at a level not thought to be associated with serious neurologic toxicity. A literature review of the occurrence of seizures in carbon monoxide poisoning found that no particular degree of carboxyhemoglobin was correlated with the presence of seizures. A seizure with no other apparent cause occurring in circumstances in which carbon monoxide toxicity would be suspected can be attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning.