Capnography

Category: science

The continuous monitoring and graphic display of the carbon dioxide concentration in an anesthetized patient's respiratory gases.

Capnography is a critical surgical monitoring metric. It measures end-tidal $CO_2$ ($ETCO_2$), providing immediate data on the animal's respiratory rate, breathing depth, and metabolic performance. It flags life-threatening hypoventilation or anesthetic system leaks far faster than a standard pulse oximeter can.

Common Examples

• The veterinary technician adjusted the ventilator settings during surgery because the capnography wave flagged rising carbon dioxide levels.
• Continuous capnography monitoring is the safest way to verify that an endotracheal tube is correctly positioned in the trachea rather than the esophagus.