In order to determine whether opioid-naive patients at risk for respiratory depression are better monitored with either capnography or pulse oximetry and respiratory-rate assessment, the authors conducted a randomized, prospective trial.
Supplemental oxygen (3 L/minute) trended toward reducing hypoxia in adult study patients; however, the 10% difference observed was not statistically significant and was below our a priori 20% threshold.
ETCO(2) can be successfully measured in all children and is significantly lower in children with acute exacerbations of asthma compared with healthy control subjects.