Simple, sensitive measurement of carbon monoxide in plasma.

A simple, sensitive method for estimating carbon monoxide in plasma is described. In this method, the carbon monoxide in plasma is trapped with hemoglobin and subsequently estimated by dithionite reduction. The method has an intra- and interassay precision (CV) of 10.7% and 12.8%, respectively, at a concentration of 1.12 mg of carbon monoxide per liter and has a detection limit of 0.1 mg/L. The reference interval for carbon monoxide in plasma from 17 men and eight women ranged from 0.14 to 0.60 mg/L (mean 0.36 mg/L).