Capnography during cardiac arrest

Sandroni, Claudio (ORCID:0000-0002-8878-2611)
De Santis, Paolo
D'Arrigo, Sonia (ORCID:0000-0001-6740-3195)

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Publication date

January 2018

DOI

10.1016/j.resuscitation.2018.08.018

Publisher

Elsevier BV

ISSN

0300-9572

Citation count (estimate)

Abstract

Successful resuscitation from cardiac arrest depends on provision of adequate blood flow to vital organs generated by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Measurement of end-tidal expiratory pressure of carbon dioxide (ETCO2) using capnography provides a noninvasive estimate of cardiac output and organ perfusion during cardiac arrest and can therefore be used to monitor the quality of CPR and predict return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). In clinical observational studies, mean ETCO2 levels in patients with ROSC are higher than those in patients with no ROSC. In prolonged out of hospital cardiac arrest, ETCO2 levels <10 mmHg are consistently associated with a poor outcome, while levels above this threshold have been suggested as a criter...