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Morton S. Skorodin, MD
Hines (Ill) Veterans Administration Hospital

JAMA. 1986;256(24):3349.

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In Reply.—

Drs Crapo and Clausen correctly point out that the Clark electrode yields precise values when tonometered fresh whole blood is used. However, this method is generally not used in clinical practice because it is quite time-consuming. Products for blood gas controls that are currently employed do produce results with wide standard deviation intervals similar to those reported by Dr Crapo. As implied by Drs Crapo and Clausen, it is likely that fresh blood samples taken from patients give somewhat more precise answers than do the controls on the same instruments, but the extent to which this is so is not known.

I agree that, by itself, the lack of precision in methods used to test the Clark electrode is not enough reason to liberalize the criteria for prescribing home oxygen. However, given the favorable risk-benefit ratio of long-term oxygen supplementation, it will ultimately improve the clinical management of . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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