A national survey of capnography utilization among anaesthesiologists in Indonesia

Abstract

BackgroundCapnography allows health-care providers to continuously monitor the concentration or partial pressure of carbon dioxide in respiratory gas. The American Society of Anaesthesiologists includes end-tidal carbon dioxide monitoring as mandatory monitoring for patients under sedation and anaesthesia. However, capnography is not widely considered for standard patient monitoring in Indonesia. We aim to investigate the utilization of capnography and reasons for lack of use among anaesthesiologists in Indonesia. MethodsAn internet-based questionnaire was distributed to participants of an online anaesthesiology national meeting. Data was collected and managed using REDCap electronic data capture tools hosted at Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia. ResultsWe received 421 respondents' replies nationwide. Replies from anaesthesiologists (n = 367) was used for data analysis. 55.3% (n = 203) reported the availability of capnography in their hospitals. Approximately 77 (21%) of respondents utilize capnography routinely for intraoperative monitoring, 132 (36%) never use capnography. Only 59 (16%) routinely use capnography for intubation confirmation. The utilization of capnography outside the operating theatre was even lower. As many of 249 (67.9%) never use capnography for monitoring during procedural sedation, while 278 (75.8%) do not utilize capnography during patient transfer. ConclusionThe utilization of capnography for intraoperative monitoring is adopted only by half of anaesthesiologists in Indonesia. Outside the operating theatre capnography use is still limited. Capnography as a standard of care should be implemented in all health care institutions in Indonesia.