GC–MS determined cotinine in an epidemiological study on smoking status at delivery

The objective of this study was to measure the plasma cotinine levels in pregnant women and their newborns using a gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method in an epidemiological-delivered population with a wide range of tobacco intakes. Nearly 1000 pregnant women from regional maternity wards (n=1007) were selected for the study. Each patient kept a tobacco diary and underwent a blood test to assess cotinine levels and at the same time that the newborns’ cordonal plasma was taken. These values were then cross-checked.Cotinine was estimated using a selected-ion monitoring mode with a 1.5 ng/ml quantification limit. The cotinine levels in mothers and newborns were highly correlated, whatever the mother's smoking status, with a calculated cut-off for cotinine levels in active smokers of 21.5 ng/ml. Finally, the cotinine determined through this GC–MS method offered a sensitive and accurate measure of tobacco exposition of the pregnant women and their babies.