Volumetric and End-Tidal Capnography for the Detection of Cardiac Output Changes in Mechanically Ventilated Patients Early after Open Heart Surgery

Background Exhaled carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) reflects cardiac output (CO) provided stable ventilation and metabolism. Detecting CO changes may help distinguish hypovolemia or cardiac dysfunction from other causes of haemodynamic instability. We investigated whether CO 2 measured as end-tidal concentration (EtCO 2 ) and eliminated volume per breath (VtCO 2 ) reflect sudden changes in cardiac output (CO).Methods We measured changes in CO, VtCO 2 , and EtCO 2 during right ventricular pacing and passive leg raise in 33 ventilated patients after open heart surgery. CO was measured with oesophageal Doppler.Results During right ventricular pacing, CO was reduced by 21% (CI 18–24; p < 0.001), VtCO 2 by 11% (CI 7.9–13; p < 0.001), and EtCO 2 by 4.9% (CI 3.6–6.1; p < 0.001). During passive leg raise, CO increased by 21% (CI 17–24; p < 0.001), VtCO 2 by 10% (CI 7.8–12; p < 0.001), and EtCO 2 by 4.2% (CI 3.2–5.1; p < 0.001). Changes in VtCO 2 were significantly larger than changes in EtCO 2 (ventricular pacing: 11% vs. 4.9% ( p < 0.001); passive leg raise: 10% vs. 4.2% ( p < 0.001)). Relative changes in CO correlated with changes in VtCO 2 ( ρ =0.53; p =0.002) and EtCO 2 ( ρ =0.47; p =0.006) only during reductions in CO. When dichotomising CO changes at 15%, only EtCO 2 detected a CO change as judged by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve.Conclusion VtCO 2 and EtCO 2 reflected reductions in cardiac output, although correlations were modest. The changes in VtCO 2 were larger than the changes in EtCO 2 , but only EtCO 2 detected CO reduction as judged by receiver operating characteristic curves. The predictive ability of EtCO 2 in this setting was fair. This trial is registered with NCT02070861 .