Specimen Requirements
Title
Carboxyhemoglobin (Carbon Monoxide), Blood
Specimen Requirement
One full EDTA (lavender-top) tube of whole blood
*KEEP TUBE CLOSED*
Methodology
Stability
Room Temperature: 5 Days; Refrigerated: 10 Days; Frozen: Unacceptable
Reference Range
Non-Smoker 15 % of total Hgb
Turnaround
3-5 Days
Clinical Use
Carbon monoxide is the most common of the gaseous poisons. Malfunctioning or poorly ventilated heating appliances and internal combustion engines are frequent causes of carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide combines reversibly with hemoglobin in a manner almost identical to oxygen resulting in a decrease in the amount of oxygen carried by hemoglobin. Accidental poisoning can occur even at low levels (greater than 0.01%) of CO in the atmosphere with prolonged exposure.
Test Code
COMQ