Clinical Chemistry Siemens Point of Care - Urinalysis
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Clinical Chemistry 47: 1053-1060, 2001;
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (17)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Miekisch, W.
Right arrow Articles by Geiger, K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Miekisch, W.
Right arrow Articles by Geiger, K.
Related Collections
Right arrow Endocrinology and Metabolism
(Clinical Chemistry. 2001;47:1053-1060.)
© 2001 American Association for Clinical Chemistry, Inc.

Articles

Analysis of Volatile Disease Markers in Blood

Wolfram Miekisch1a, Jochen K. Schubert1, Dierk A. Vagts1 and Klaus Geiger2

1 Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital of Rostock, Schillingallee 35, 18057 Rostock, Germany.

2 Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital of Freiburg, Hugstetter Strasse 55, 79106 Freiburg, Germany.

aAuthor for correspondence. Fax 49-381-4946402; e-mail wolfram.miekisch{at}medizin.uni-rostock.de.

Background: The diagnostic potential of breath analysis has been limited by a lack of knowledge on origin, distribution, and metabolism of the exhaled substances. To overcome this problem, we developed a method to assess trace amounts of hydrocarbons (pentane and isoprene), ketones (acetone), halogenated compounds (isoflurane), and thioethers (dimethyl sulfide) in the blood of humans and animals.

Methods: Arterial and venous blood samples were taken from mechanically ventilated patients. Additional blood samples were taken from selected vascular compartments of 19 mechanically ventilated pigs. Volatile substances were concentrated by means of solid-phase microextraction (SPME), separated by gas chromatography, and identified by mass spectrometry.

Results: Detection limits were 0.02–0.10 nmol/L. Venous concentrations in pigs were 0.2–1.3 nmol/L for isoprene, 0–0.3 nmol/L for pentane, and 1.2–15.1 nmol/L for dimethyl sulfide. In pigs, substances were not equally distributed among vascular compartments. In humans, median arteriovenous concentration differences were 3.58 nmol/L for isoprene and 1.56 nmol/L for pentane. These values were comparable to pulmonary excretion rates reported in the literature. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients had lower isoprene concentration differences than patients without ARDS.

Conclusions: The SPME method can detect volatile substances in very low concentrations in the blood of humans and animals. Analysis of volatile substances in vascular compartments will enlarge the diagnostic potential of breath analysis.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2001 by the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.