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Updated: Feb 26, 2026

Expired CO2 Measurement in Intubated or Spontaneously Breathing Patients from the Emergency Department
Published on: January 29, 2011
Arterial to end-tidal carbon dioxide difference in children undergoing mechanical ventilation of the lungs during
C Onodi1, P K Bühler1, J Thomas1
1Department of Anaesthesia and Children's Research Centre, University Children's Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Capnography (ETCO2 ) is routinely used as a non-invasive estimate of arterial carbon dioxide (PaCO2 ) levels in order to modify ventilatory settings, whereby it is assumed that there is a positive gap between PaCO2 and ETCO2 of approximately 0.5 kPa. However, negative values (ETCO2 > PaCO2 ) can be observed. We retrospectively analysed arterial to end-tidal carbon dioxide differences in 799 children undergoing general anaesthesia with mechanical ventilation of the lungs in order to elucidate predictors for a negative gap. A total of 2452 blood gas analysis readings with complete vital sign monitoring, anaesthesia gas analysis and spirometry data were analysed. Mean arterial to end-tidal carbon dioxide difference was -0.18 kPa (limits of 95% agreement -1.10 to 0.74) and 71.2% of samples demonstrated negative values. The intercept model revealed PaCO2 to be the strongest predictor for a negative PaCO2 -ETCO2 difference. A decrease in PaCO2 by 1 kPa resulted in a decrease in the PaCO2 -ETCO2 difference by 0.23 kPa. This study demonstrates that ETCO2 monitoring in children whose lungs are mechanically ventilated may paradoxically lead to overestimation of ETCO2 (ETCO2 > PaCO2 ) with a subsequent risk of unrecognised hypocarbia.
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