Carbon monoxide levels in workers at the Cerro de Guayabal Toll Booth, Ecuador
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14602145Keywords:
heparin anticoagulant, carboxyhemoglobin, hemoglobin, carbon monoxide, oxygenAbstract
Carboxyhemoglobin is formed when CO binds to hemoglobin with an affinity 240 times greater than oxygen. This research aimed to evaluate carbon monoxide (CO) levels in the Cerro de Guayabal toll booth workers, located on the Portoviejo-Manta highway, km 9 ½. This analytical, descriptive, prospective, and cross-sectional field study determined the risk of CO exposure by measuring the carboxyhemoglobin percentage (%COHb) at the beginning of the workday. The study included 33 workers who spent more than eight hours daily at the toll booth and were exposed to CO emissions from motor vehicles. A case-control design was used, comparing the results of the exposed workers (cases) with a control group that was not exposed but had similar demographic characteristics. The %COHb measurement was conducted in the morning to ensure the accuracy of the results. The data revealed that the toll area, with approximately 20,000 vehicles passing per hour, represents a potential health risk for the workers.
Downloads
References
Alvarado, J.D., & Hernández, G.E. (2008). Efectos de monóxido de carbono en la salud de los comerciantes de la ciudad de Loja, abril- agosto 2008. Universidad Particular de Loja. http://dspace.utpl.edu.ec/handle/123456789/1641
Bolaños, P., & Chacón, C. (2017). Intoxicación por monóxido de carbono. Medicina Legal de Costa Rica, 34(1), 137-146. http://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1409-00152017000100137&lng=en&tlng=es
Bravo, M.S., & Mora, S.C. (2016). Determinación de carboxihemoglobina al inicio y final de jornada diurna en vendedores de kioskos en el área de embarque del terminal terrestre de Cuenca. Universidad de Cuenca. https://dspace.ucuenca.edu.ec/handle/123456789/24429
Díaz, M., Crapanzano, G., Cabrerizo, S., Aichele, C., Deurtiaga, A., & Vallejos, Y. (2017). Intoxicación masiva con monóxido de carbono: puesta al día a partir de un caso. Archivos Argentinos de Pediatría, 115(1), 76-81. https://www.sap.org.ar/docs/publicaciones/archivosarg/2017/v115n1a26.pdf
Durán, V.T. (2015). Determinación de carboxihemoglobina al inicio y final de jornada laboral en trabajadores de estaciones de servicio-gasolineras de la zona sur-oeste de la ciudad de Cuenca. Universidad de Cuenca. https://dspace.ucuenca.edu.ec/bitstream/123456789/21724/1/TESIS.pdf
Chi, Y.J., Pan, H.Y., Cheng, F.J., Chang, Y.I., & Chuang, P.C. (2022). Experience of carbon monoxide poisoning and the outcome predicting score: A multicenter retrospective study. American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 58, 73-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2022.05.012
Kashfi, K., & Patel, K.K. (2022). Carbon monoxide and its role in human physiology: A brief historical perspective. Biochemical Pharmacology, 204, 115230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2022.115230
Mayorga, C.M., Ruiz, M.E., & Aldas, D.S. (2020). Percepciones Acerca De la contaminación del aire generada por el transporte urbano en Ambato, Ecuador. Revista Espacios, 41(17), 11. http://ww.revistaespacios.com/a20v41n17/a20v41n17p11.pdf
Ministerio del Ambiente. (2010). Plan Nacional de la calidad del aire. https://www.ambiente.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/10/libro-calidad-aire-1-final.pdf
Oilu, G., Nogué, S., & Miró, O. (2010). Intoxicacion por monoxido de carbono, servicio de medicina interna, hospital de palamo españa. Emergencias, 22, 451-459. https://revistaemergencias.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Emergencias-2010_22_6_451-9.pdf
Rosas, R.E. (2014). Riesgo toxicológico del monóxido de carbono en el ambiente laboral de la Empresa Consorcio revisión vehicular Danton-Cuenca. Universidad de Cuenca. https://dspace.ucuenca.edu.ec/handle/123456789/5083
Vives, J.L. (2014). Manual de Técnicas de Laboratorio en Hematología (4 Ed.). Elsevier. Available in: https://bit.ly/4g3jfDA
Published
Data Availability Statement
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mercedes K. Montes, María E. Moreira, Ivón Howland (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
