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Agreement of Carbon Dioxide Levels Measured by Arterial, Transcutaneous and End Tidal Methods in Preterm Infants ≤28 Weeks Gestation

Journal of Perinatology volume 25, pages 26–29 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To assess the agreement of transcutaneous carbon dioxide (TcPCO2) and end tidal carbon dioxide (PetCO2) with arterial carbon dioxide (PaCO2) values in infants < 28 weeks gestational age.

STUDY DESIGN:

In all, 27 ventilated preterm infants were prospectively studied. PaCO2 was compared with TcPCO2 and PetCO2 measured at three similar time points within first 24 hours after birth.

RESULTS:

The Intraclass correlation coefficients for TcPCO2 and PaCO2 were 0.45, 0.73 and 0.53; and for PetCO2 and PaCO2 were 0.61, 0.56 and 0.57 at 4, 12 and 24 hours after birth, respectively.

CONCLUSION:

A moderate agreement with a wide variation in individual values was observed between noninvasive methods and PaCO2 in preterm infants in the first 24 hours. Noninvasive monitoring methods cannot be substituted for PaCO2 analyses in preterm infants during this critical period.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank the parents of all preterm infants who consented to participate in this study and the respiratory therapists and nursing staff working in the NICU at Mount Sinai Hospital for their relentless support during this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Mount Sinai Hospital and University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Lucia Liz D Aliwalas MD, DPPS, Shafagh Fallah MSc, Vibhuti Shah MD, MRCP, MRCPCH & Prakesh S Shah MD, MRCP, MRCPCH, FRCPC

  2. Department of Respiratory Therapy, Mount Sinai Hospital and University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Laura Noble RRT, RRCP & Karin Nesbitt RRT, RRCP

Authors
  1. Lucia Liz D Aliwalas MD, DPPS
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  2. Laura Noble RRT, RRCP
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  3. Karin Nesbitt RRT, RRCP
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  4. Shafagh Fallah MSc
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  5. Vibhuti Shah MD, MRCP, MRCPCH
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  6. Prakesh S Shah MD, MRCP, MRCPCH, FRCPC
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Aliwalas, L., Noble, L., Nesbitt, K. et al. Agreement of Carbon Dioxide Levels Measured by Arterial, Transcutaneous and End Tidal Methods in Preterm Infants ≤28 Weeks Gestation. J Perinatol 25, 26–29 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7211202

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