Citation

Touger M, Gallagher EJ, Tyrell J. Ann. Emerg. Med. 1995; 25(4): 481-483.

Affiliation

Department of Medicine, Bronx Municipal Hospital, Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, American College of Emergency Physicians, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

7710152

Abstract

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that venous carboxyhemoglobin (V-COHb) levels accurately predict arterial (A-COHb) levels. DESIGN: Prospective comparison of A-COHb and V-COHb levels in patients with suspected carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. SETTING: Municipal hospital emergency department with contiguous multiplace hyperbaric chamber staffed 24 hours a day. PARTICIPANTS: Unselected convenience sample of 61 adults with suspected CO toxicity. INTERVENTION: Simultaneous sampling of arterial and venous blood. RESULTS: Correlation between V-COHb and A-COHb showed an r value of .99 (95%CI, .99 to .99), and an r2 value of .98. Agreement between V-COHb and A-COHb levels was examined by use of a plot of arteriovenous differences against the mean of the two measurements. The mean arteriovenous difference was .15% COHb (95%CI, .13% to .45%), with 95% of the differences ranging from 2.4% COHb to -2.1% COHb. CONCLUSION: Venous COHb levels predict arterial levels with a high degree of accuracy. Patients with suspected CO poisoning can be screened with the use of venous blood, without the need for arterial puncture.

Language: en