Exploring intermittent transcutaneous CO2 monitoring

Objective: To explore the accuracy of a continuous transcutaneous CO2 (Tcco(2)) monitor, used in an intermittent rather than a continuous fashion, to obtain quick (<5 mins) CO2 readings. Design: Prospective study. Setting: An urban pediatric intensive care unit in a university teaching hospital. Patients: A convenience sample of pediatric patients with indwelling arterial catheters, Intervention: Transcutaneous monitoring was done simultaneous with arterial blood gas monitoring. Measurements and Main Results: There were 49 simultaneous readings on 19 patients, age 5 days to 16 years, with 13 different diagnoses. The Tcco(2) was related to the Pco(2) by a Pearson product coefficient of 0.79 (p < .0005), with a mean difference of 1.94 (Tcco(2) > Pco(2)) and 95% confidence interval of -0.12 to 4.07, The scatterplot produces a regression line characterized by the following equation: Pco(2) = (Tcco(2) x 1.05) - 4.08. Conclusions: Further study to evaluate intermittent Tcco(2) as a practical clinical variable is warranted. This study should encourage refinement of the technology to be more accurate for this use.