Which of the following statements is true concerning the CO-oximeter measurement of a patient with a bilirubin level greater than 20 mg/dL in whole blood?

a. The O2Hb value will be lower than the actual O2Hb.
b. The O2Hb value will be higher than the actual O2Hb.
c. The HbCO value will be higher than the actual HbCO level.
d. The bilirubin level will not affect the re-sults of the CO-oximeter.

ANS: A
Bilirubin levels of greater than 20 mg/dL of whole blood will alter measurements, because biliru-bin absorbs near-IR and IR light. Absorbance of light by bilirubin lowers the actual O2Hb meas-ured.