[Experience in employing pulse CO-Oximetry].
BACKGROUND
In U.S.A., Pulse CO-Oximetry has emerged as a quick, simple, and non-invasive diagnostic modality to measure the concentration of COHb in arterial blood. To investigate its efficiency, we measured COHb levels by employing Pulse CO-Oximetry and by CO-Oximeter in arterial blood.


METHODS
Normal healthy volunteers with a habit of smoking, smoked three cigarettes consecutively for nine minutes.


RESULTS
Through this experiment, it was confirmed that the COHb level by Pulse CO-Oximetry rose after smoking (6.9 +/- 2.7%: mean +/- SD) and fell after oxygen inhalation (2.5 +/- 2.2%). The correlation coefficient of COHb levels between Pulse CO-Oximetry and blood sample was 0.34.


CONCLUSIONS
The correlation coefficient between the COHb level by Pulse CO-Oximetry and that in the blood sample was not so high, but Pulse CO-Oximetry has the potential of changing the way victims of CO exposure are diagnosed and treated, because of its easiness.
Nagano
Tatsuya
T
Department of Emergency & Critical Care Medicine, Yamagata University School of Medicine, Yamagata 990-9585.
Iseki
Ken
K
Niki
Takao
T
Suzuki
Asumi
A
Kawamae
Kaneyuki
K
D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002249:Carbon Monoxide Poisoning / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D002263:Carboxyhemoglobin / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010092:Oximetry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000097:blood
D015415:Biomarkers; D002263:Carboxyhemoglobin