A SIMPLE QUALITY-CONTROL PROTOCOL FOR HAEMOXIMETRY USING STANDARD P50

We have designed a quality control tool for haemoximetry using the pri nciple that standard p50, calculated from blood gas and haemoximetry m easurements using the Siggaard-Andersen algorithm, remains unchanged w hen a specimen of venous blood is oxygenated progressively to 97% satu ration of haemoglobin. If the haemoximeter is inaccurate, progressivel y larger deviations of standard p50 from the constant value occur abov e 80% saturation. Deviations too small to be detected by analysis of q uality control materials comprised of non-haemoglobin dyes and yet suf ficient to cause significant errors in derived extractivity parameters can be detected by this method. The suggested protocol is easy to per form, and is recommended as a quality control tool for blood gas analy sed/haemoximeters used to determine arterial extractivity parameters.