I.M. Irurzun. R.B. Hoyle, M.R.E. Proctor and D.A. King [Chem. Phys. Lett. 377 (2003) 269] have recently proposed a novel coarse-grained approach to describing the transport of adsorbed CO molecules along the quasi-hexagonal and (1 x 1) patches during kinetic oscillations in CO oxidation on the Pt(1 0 0) surface. Our analysis indicates that this approach cannot be used as a robust tool for analysing the pattern formation in oscillatory catalytic reactions, because it contradicts the basic principles of general theory of mass transport. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.