Background levels of hydrogen cyanide in human breath measured by infrared cavity ring down spectroscopy

Abstract

Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) in breath has been suggested as a diagnostic tool for cyanide poisoning and for cyanide-producing bacterial infections. To distinguish elevated levels of breath HCN, baseline data are needed. Background levels of HCN were measured in mixed exhaled air from 40 healthy subjects (26 men, 14 women, age 21–61 years; detection limit: 1.5 ppb; median: 4.4 ppb; range <1.5–14 ppb) by near-infrared cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS). No correlation was observed with smoking habits, recent meals or age. However, female subjects had slightly higher breath levels of HCN than male subjects. CRDS has not previously been used for this purpose.

Keywords::

• Breath analysis
• cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS)
• hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Acknowledgements

The study was financially supported by ångpanneföreningen, the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare, the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research, the Academy of Finland, the QUASAAR EU-funded network and the Emil Aaltonen Foundation.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.