Monitoring of end tidal carbon dioxide and transcutaneous carbon dioxide during neonatal transport

Abstract

Objective: To assess the accuracy of measurements of end tidal carbon dioxide (CO2) during neonatal transport compared with arterial and transcutaneous measurements. Design: Paired end tidal and transcutaneous CO 2 recordings were taken frequently during road transport of 21 ventilated neonates. The first paired CO2 values were compared with an arterial blood gas. The differences between arterial CO2 (PaCO2), transcutaneous CO2 (TcPcO2), and end tidal CO2 (PetCO2) were analysed. The Bland-Altman method was used to assess bias and repeatability. Results: PetCO2 correlated strongly with PaCO2 and TcPCO2. However, PetCO 2 underestimated PaCO2 at a clinically unacceptable level (mean (SD) 1.1 (0..