A new method for measuring PCO2 during anaesthesia

We have evaluated a new method for measuring the oxygenated mixed venous PCO2 (PVCO2) in patients undergoing general anaesthesia. The lungs were inflated with a gas mixture containing 0% carbon dioxide and then 12% carbon dioxide and the expired gas was analysed both before and after a brief period of breath-holding. PVCO2 was estimated from the differences in carbon dioxide concentration before and after the apnoeic period. Simultaneous measurments of PaCO2 were made in blood obtained from radial artery puncture. The range of PaCO2 studied was 3.2--6.13 kPa. The relationship between mixed venous and arterial PCO2 was found to be PaCO2 = 0.87 PVCO2--0.44 (r = 0.91). We conclude that this method for measuring PVCO2 can be used during anaesthesia allowing PaCO2 to be estimated with considerable accuracy.