Role of Capnography in Detecting Hypercapnic Events during Weaning from Mechanical Ventilation

Abstract

This study was a prospective cross sectional study conducted on sixty critically ill patients with respiratory failure admitted in Abbassia Chest Hospital, Respiratory Intensive Care Unit during the period from April 2018 to April 2019. The aim of this study was to assess role of capnography during weaning from mechanical ventilation. Patients were diagnosed as COPD (26 patients), other diagnosis were (pneumonia, old tuberculosis, congestive heart failure and pulmonary hypertension, bronchiectasis, interstitial lung disease, obstructive sleep apnea, bronchial asthma and lung cancer). Tracheostomized patients and those who were extubated within the first 48 hours of mechanical ventilation were excluded. Patients were mechanically ventilated more than 48 hours and were ventilated in assisted volume control mode or SIMV mode. Main stream capnography was connected on the expiratory side of the circuit’s endotracheal tube connector after proper calibration and adjustment. After stabilizing the medical conditions of the patients and when fulfilled all criteria of weaning, ETCO2 were recorded simultaneously while sampling arterial blood to evaluate