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Updated: Mar 11, 2026

Expired CO2 Measurement in Intubated or Spontaneously Breathing Patients from the Emergency Department
Published on: January 29, 2011
[Extracorporeal CO2 removal as an alternative to tracheotomy in a patient with extubation failure]
1Klinik für Anästhesiologie, Universitätsklinikum Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053, Regensburg, Deutschland. andreas.redel@ukr.de.
Abstract:
We report a patient with chest trauma who was admitted to the ICU after surgery. As he fulfilled protocol-based criteria, he was extubated 7 days after admission. However, despite intermittent non-invasive ventilation, the patient had to be re-intubated on day 10 owing to progressive hypercapnia. We decided to support the patient with a mid-flow veno-venous extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2‑R) system instead of a tracheotomy. Sufficient CO2 removal was established with a blood flow of 1.5 l/min and the patient was successfully extubated within a few hours. After 5 days of ECCO2‑R the patient could be weaned and transferred to a general ward in a stable condition.
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