Clinical study
Leukocyte larceny: A cause of spurious hypoxemia

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Abstract

Multiple blood specimens with different leukocyte counts from two patients with extreme leukocytosis secondary to leukemia and unexplained hypoxemia were tonometered with a gas of known oxygen concentration and the decay of oxygen tension (PO2) was measured over time. The decay in PO2 in the first 2 minutes for blood with leukocyte counts of between 55.2 X 103/mm3 and 490.0 X 103/mm3 ranged from 13 to 72 torr. The degree of PO2 decay was blunted by placing the blood on ice and was obliterated by adding potassium cyanide. Thus, extreme leukocytosis secondary to leukemia can cause spurious hypoxemia and spurious lowering of the mixed venous PO2 due to oxygen consumption by leukocytes (“leukocyte larceny”).

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Cited by (0)

This study was presented in abstract form for presentation at the meeting of the American Thoracic Society, Las Vegas, Nevada, May 15, 1979.

1

From the Pulmonary and Hematology Sections, Departments of Medicine, University and Boston City Hospitals, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.

Present address: Pulmonary Division, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island 02902.

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