Carbon monoxide (CO), aka The silent killer, is an odorless, colorless and poisonous gas that is produced as a byproduct of burning fossil fuels in the absence of enough oxygen in the atmosphere for complete combustion, the condition called anaerobic combustion. If inhaled, the gas may lead to several medical complications and some them could even be lethal. Carbon monoxide blood test detect poisoning from breathing carbon monoxide (CO). The test measures the level of a compound called carboxyl-hemoglobin. When carbon monoxide enters the human body, it combines with the red blood cells which carry oxygen to the body's tissues. This binding converts a compound called hemoglobin, that is responsible for oxygen carriage in RBCs, to carboxyl-hemoglobin. Carboxyl-hemoglobin in turn is not capable of carrying the oxygen as a result, less oxygen is carried to the brain and to other body tissues. When blood containing carboxyl-hemoglobin reaches brain, it can cause severe cyto-toxicity and may even lead to death of the victim. The results to the carbon monoxide test are often reported in percentages (%) using a simple formula, the total amount of carbon monoxide bound to hemoglobin divided by the total amount of hemoglobin. The higher the recorded percentage of the CO bounded hemoglobin, the greater shall be the risk of having carbon monoxide poisoning. Values below 20% are considered to be safe for a healthy person.
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