A system for continuous long-term measurement of respiratory gas exchange in ventilated patients

A system for continuous long-term measurement of respiratory gas exchange in ventilated patients is presented. The method is noninvasive and may be applied in a clinical setting over a period of several days without adversely affecting the patient's wellbeing. The set-up was designed exclusively as a research tool. It registers oxygen uptake and CO2 elimination at 5 min intervals; breath-averaged measurements are carried out every 30 s. Expired minute volume is measured with a pneumotachograph equipped with an automatic drift compensation. A newly developed gas mixer insures that the inspiratory oxygen concentration remains constant. Expired gases are analysed for O2 and CO2 concentrations by mass spectrometer. The effect of the compressible gas volume is eliminated by segregating the inspiratory gas from the expired gas. The basic accuracy of measurement of the method is +/- 2.5% for oxygen uptake and +/- 2.0% for CO2 elimination. This result is based on a comparison of the individual components of the system with standard methods. The system's time constant (t90) for changes in O2 and CO2 concentrations is about 50 s. Based on the results of a case study, we will discuss oxygen uptake, CO2 elimination and the oxygen uptake profile of a patient measured over a period of seven days.