3
Overview
All patients attending a smoking cessation program should have
their smoking habits established and checked with the CO
Check+/CO Check+ Baby at every visit. The results of an initial
test may sound alarming to many smokers but within a few days
of stopping, CO levels can drop to normal and it is very
encouraging for a smoker to see this. CO monitoring is an
extremely powerful tool for a smoking cessation counselor,
physician or respiratory therapist.
Taking a test before a COPD patient stops smoking will help you
gauge their level of nicotine dependence and taking it after they
have stopped will give them real proof that what they are doing is
working.
The best time to do a test is in the afternoon as CO levels fall
over-night and morning readings can sometimes give misleadingly
low results. High readings in the morning on the other hand, would
be strong evidence of heavy inhalation and high nicotine
dependence.
When the environmental reading is enabled, background CO
levels are considered when carrying out a breath test. If the
background levels are 10ppm for example, then when the person
is taking a breath test this background reading of 10ppm will be
considered.
For example, if the environmental monitor is ON and a reading of
10 ppm is detected and the patient records 3 ppm, then the
measurement displayed will be the higher value i.e. 10 ppm.
Conversely, if the environmental monitor is OFF, then the
measurement displayed, will be the actual value recorded by the
patient i.e. 3ppm.
Intended Use
The CO Check+ / CO Check+ Baby is a hand held portable
battery-operated device used for measuring the carbon monoxide
(CO) concentration on the breath, calculating the percentage of
carboxyhemoglobin (%COHb) in the blood and for the CO Check
