ABSTRACT
A large variety of techniques have been used to measure the concentration of carboxyhemoglobin in blood. However, in practice, spectrophotometric techniques account for the vast majority of the work carried out. These are not the most accurate techniques but they are less difficult for most laboratories to be able to deal with. There are a large number of experimental variables which need to be controlled very carefully to avoid serious errors in the final result. This work presents a variety of common problems encountered. Therefore, it should be concluded that the determination of COHb, which has such a multitude of opportunities for error, is often inaccurate.
