The first part of this series of articles looked at the origin of CO2 in the body and why it is important. Also discussed were sidestream and mainstream capnographs and how to obtain a good capnogram.

To begin here, let’s make the nomenclature clear

•capnogram – the waveform trace seen on a capnograph

•capnograph – an instrument that displays a capnogram plus values of inspired/expired CO2

•capnometer – an instrument that measures and displays only numerical values of CO2

Now we’re ready to look at some waveforms and begin to understand what the capnograph is telling us.

Author

Keith Simpson BVSc MRCVS MIET(Electronics)

Keith Simpson is a veterinary surgeon and electronics engineer and runs a company called Vetronic Services. For 15 years after qualifying from Bristol University School of Veterinary Sciences, Keith was in mixed and small animal practice. In 2001 he left mainstream practice to concentrate on designing ventilators and monitoring equipment for the veterinary market.

Keywords: Clinical, Capnography, respiratory

To cite this article: Veterinary Nursing Journal • VOL 29 (12) • December 2014 • pp395-397

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