[Capnography in pediatric anesthesia: pitfalls and applications].

Abstract

Expired CO2 analysis is an important area of anaesthetic monitoring. It ranges from ventilator connection to the estimation of alveolar dead space. In paediatric anaesthesia, end tidal CO2 measurement and analysis as well as PaCO2 estimation are subject to a rather large number of mistakes. Confrontation between the technical specificities of CO2 monitors and the anatomical and physiological distinctive characteristics of the paediatric patient is mainly responsible for the interpretation difficulties encountered. Nevertheless capnography remains fundamental for paediatric ventilation monitoring.