Continuous capnography monitoring during transport of critically ill patients
Jia et al. should be congratulated for their large prospective multi-centre observational study to identify the incidence and risk factors of adverse events (AEs) during intra-hospital transport (IHT) of critically ill patients. They a priori categorised the AEs associated with the transfer process into equipment related AEs (E-AEs)...
Capno 101: What is Airway Management?
Capno 101: What is Airway Management? Airway management is a critical EMS skill. Simply put, a patient without an airway will not survive – but placement of an advanced airway device in critically ill and injured patients is a high-risk procedure, and a misplaced airway can cause permanent disability or death. The capnography...
Quiz: Capnography in cardiac arrest
By Sean Hulsman Running a cardiac arrest is arguably one of the most stressful experiences an EMS provider can have. There are many tasks to complete and interventions to monitor. The scene is often charged with emotion. However, when all is said and done it’s the C-A-B approach which makes or breaks the treatment: high quality...
Prognostication of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients by 3-min end-tidal capnometry level in emergency department
Objective To evaluate the role of initial ETCO2 value in prognostication of OHCA patients in an Asian-Chinese cohort. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Emergency departments of two regional hospitals in a cluster of Hong Kong. Patients: Patients were recruited prospectively from the local cardiac arrest registry from July...
End-tidal capnometry during emergency department procedural sedation and analgesia: a randomized, controlled study
BACKGROUND: This prospective, randomized trial was undertaken to evaluate the utility of adding end-tidal capnometry (ETC) to pulse oximetry (PO) in patients undergoing procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) in the emergency department (ED). METHODS: The patients were randomized to monitoring with or without ETC in addition to...
Quiz: Use of Capnography in the assessment of sepsis patients
By Sean Hulsman Sepsis carries a greater mortality rate than many diseases we consider common place like breast cancer and AIDS. Surprisingly, EMS has only recently begun to broaden training on diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering from sepsis in the field. The physiology of sepsis is very much within the realm of...
Quiz: Respiratory compromise from opioid overdose
By Sean Hulsman As EMS battles the rising trend of opioid abuse and subsequent respiratory arrest, lives are being saved through competent control of airway and breathing. It is important that providers understand not only the mechanism and drawbacks of naloxone, but also the best way to monitor respiratory status. Waveform...
