Evaluation of the Harleco apparatus for determining carbon dioxide in whole blood.

In clinical emergencies it is often necessary to rapidly determine blood CO2 content, so that the patient may be promptly treated. The Harleco Co. has introduced an apparatus to determine CO2 content of plasma and serum, based on principles of the classical Van Slyke volumetric method (1). We have used this apparatus to directly determine total CO2 in whole blood, and compared results to those obtained by another commonly used laboratory method. The Harleco method can be performed by individuals with minimal Syringe n = 45 r = .861 y = 8.92 + 0.91x Pipet n = 25 r = .917 y = 7.56 + 1.Olx CLIN. CHEM. 19/9, 1075-1076 (1973)