Acute Cortical Blindness Following Acute Carbon Monoxide Intoxication Due to Gas Geyser Syndrome

Accidental carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is common during the winters. The use of gas geysers by Indian households during this season for heating purposes may inadvertently lead to brain injury. Such cases can be misdiagnosed as seizures, resulting in inappropriate treatment. Typically, CO poisoning results in bilateral damage to the globus pallidus, while injury to the cortical gray matter is less common. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain done within the first 24 hours might not detect all the damage, so it's important to have a follow-up MRI within 3-7 days for a more accurate assessment. Our case presents a unique instance of CO poisoning where the patient exhibited near-symmetric posterior gray matter damage, without involvement of the basal ganglia, resulting in acute cortical blindness following exposure to a gas geyser. The awareness of this unusual and peculiar clinical and radiological presentation in gas geyser-related cases should encourage clinicians to adopt a more proactive approach.