Objective To investigate the effect of β -sodium aescinate on delayed encephalopathy caused by acute carbon monoxide poisoning and observe the changes of IL-4, IL-10 and TGF-β1 during treatment period.

Methods A total of 84 diagnosed cases were divided into 2 groups, namely, the combined therapeutic group (hyperbaric oxygen plus β -sodium aescinate) and hyperbaric oxygen group. Before and after treatment, serum levels of IL-4, IL-10 and TGF-β1 were measured, the neuropsychological condition were assessed with MOCA and MMSE, and the latency of P300 was measured by key point electromyography/evoked potential.

Results The total effective rate of the combined treatment group was 90.5%, higher than that of hyperbaric oxygen group (61.9%) (P < 0.05). The serum levels of IL-4, IL-10 and TGF-β1 in the combined treatment group were higher than those in the hyperbaric oxygen group (P < 0.01). The average velocity of cerebral artery in the combined treatment group was lower than that in hyperbaric oxygen group (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference of adverse effects between two groups (P>0.05). MOCA score and MMSE score of patients were significantly improved and the latency of P300 was significantly shortened after treatment (P < 0.05).

Conclusion β -sodium aescinate could effectively improve the level of IL-4, IL-10 and TGF-β1 in patients with carbon monoxide poisoning, and the adverse reaction rate of treated patients was low, which is worthy of further clinical study.