Availability of portable capnometers in children with tracheostomy.

Abstract

A capnometer is a noninvasive monitor that is used to assess patients' respiratory status. This study was performed to evaluate the availability of a portable capnometer in children with tracheostomy. This retrospective study included children with tracheostomy who were treated at the Osaka Women's and Children's Hospital Osaka, Japan, from 1 September 2018 to 31 October 2019. We assessed the correlation between the partial pressure of venous carbon dioxide (PvCO2 ) and end-tidal carbon dioxide tension (EtCO2 ) using a portable capnometer (EMMA; Masimo, Irvine, CA, USA). Nine infants and 43 simultaneous PvCO2 -EtCO2 pairs were analyzed. The correlation coefficient of these pairs was 0.87 (95% confidence interval, 0.77-0.93; P < 0.001). The Bland-Altman plot showed that EtCO2 was on average 10.0mmHg lower than its paired PvCO2 value (95% limits of agreement, 1.0-19.1). The difference between PvCO2 and EtCO2 was significantly greater in patients on ventilators. The portable capnometer evaluated in this study (EMMA) was readily available and useful for assessment of the respiratory condition in children with tracheostomy.