Five Cases of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Due to Narghile (Shisha)

Abstract

Narghile known in different names as shisha, hookah, hubble-bubble, waterpipe has been smoked widely in Middle East countries traditionally and recently began to spread to European countries and USA. Narghile is consumed particularly by university youth in cafes as a social activity in Turkey. We report a case series of five patients presented with narghile induced carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. We believe that this problem might be overlooked and underreported. We want to emphasize that, in the differential diagnosis of nonspecific neurological complaints (especially headache, nausea, vomiting and vertigo) CO poisoning must be considered and patient must be questioned about the usage of narghile smoking especially in areas popular of it.

Syncope Associated with Carbon Monoxide Poisoning due to Narghile Smoking

“…All patients were treated with oxygen supply and did well clinically [1, 2, 4, 5]. The initial COHb level of our case was also similar to the literature, 32.7%.…”

“…We noticed that cases are all social smokers at cafés between the ages of 16 and 27 [1, 2, 4, 5]. Our case was also a social smoker of narghile.…”

“…Carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication can be notoriously nonspecific in its initial presentation to the emergency department (ED), leading to a delay in diagnosis and treatment [1, 2]. The well-known sources of CO poisoning are home heaters, car exhaust, hot water heaters, portable generators, fireplaces, tobacco smoke, and so forth.…”

“…Traditionally, narghile smoking is a matter of culture mainly in Middle East, Asia, and Africa. It has been recently spreading to European countries and USA [1]. Narghile smoking is a kind of social event in café especially among young people in Turkey.…”

An Unusual Cause of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Narghile Smoking

“…Narghile smoking is a rare cause of CO poisoning. There have been few cases of CO poisoning associated with the use of narghiles [ 2 , 4 – 7 ].…”