In France, nearly 4,000 cases of poisoning require immediate medical attention, including oxygen therapy, every year. About 100 deaths are also reported annually.

Neurological disorders may appear immediately after poisoning or after a delay ranging from a few days to several months (post-interval syndrome). These incidents can leave irreversible neurological sequelae (Parkinsonian syndrome, sensorineural hearing loss, polyneuropathy, behavioral disorders) and cardiac sequelae (repolarization disorders, myocardial infarction). Poisoning is particularly severe in pregnant women, especially for the fetus, which may also be poisoned; fetal hemoglobin has an even greater affinity for carbon monoxide than maternal hemoglobin.