The study found that the absence of a breathing monitor, or capnograph, contributed to 74 percent of airway-related deaths reported from ICUs in the United Kingdom from 2008-2009. The capnograph detects exhaled carbon dioxide and is used almost universally in anesthesia but only occasionally in ICUs.
The researchers concluded if the monitor had been used in the ICUs, it would have identified problems at an earlier stage and thus could have prevented some deaths.
Read the study of capnography in the British Journal of Anaesthesia.
Read more on anesthesia:
–Suit Dismissed on Unsupervised Anesthetics in Rural Colorado
–Anesthesiology Residency Programs to Include Required Simulation Training
–FDA Panel on Pediatric Anesthesia Produces Many Goals, Few Answers
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