Pitfalls with mass spectrometry in clinical anesthesia.

Mass spectrometry of respired gases puts a powerful analytic tool into the hand of the clinician. However, serious misinterpretations may result if the principle of operation and certain weaknesses of spectrometry are not appreciated. The potential pitfalls of clinical mass spectrometry are related to the need to have one unit serve many patients and to the design of the spectrometer and its algorithms.